—I 

■■■MM 



II 



111 h H9 
H H HH H 

in 



i 

1L 
II 

I 

l 

91 




HI Bill 



BB 



— i 



■ 






MM 



BflWH 



ram 



vmBt 



SHnw 



mKHQ 



19l 



HK 



$31 



KB 

H 
Em 



■asD 



uSI 



■Bin 

■H 
BB 

H 



■ 






MBA 


Hfli 


HH 


MB 






PMJMBJH 


Bl 








HH 

H 



Wl MM h9BBDDQB9D0m0I9 dHhBHHI KH9B9H 

n n 

In tfl rail 

h nn 

HHH wi H m 

m m 

m m m n 

■n HH H HH Hra 

91 HHaBB WW HBH8H 

*m n w bbb nn 

in 

I H HH rHHBIH 










\0 o 



4- 



/ 



r. + 



\ ©, 



q5 '^> 









^ c 



^ 



<. 






>% 






•# 






cf- 






,^ 



&°< 



•->. 






\ 



\ v 



^ 












*f 






jfr 






■te. 



\ ' s 






i 









v 






«A 







o 
















■^^ 



-%. %* 



A* J\ 



I* </> 






*<£l 






V 



a. ,-£A 






S 



X ^ 






A 









^ 



**° 






o- 




























i* 



















A 00 , 



* 



V 












A 



# x 






A' 



^ 






^ 












\ V 






v0 



s- 





S^Ts 



-&z^ 







THE 



Teottim Hoese OE AlEEICA; 

HOW TO TRAIN AND DRIVE HTM. 

WITH 

REMINISCENCES OE THE TROTTING TURK 

BY 

HIRAM WOODRUFF. 



EDITED BY CHARLES J. FOSTER 
Of " Wilkes' Spirit of the Times." 



INCLUDING AN INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY GEORGE WILKES, AND 
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY THE EDITOR. 




NEW YORK: 
J. B. FORD AND COMPANY. 

1870. 



ST3; 
IZ1 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

J. B. FORD AND COMPANY. 

la the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



8v Transfer 
°- C Public Libwy 
FEE 2 6 1938 



University Press: Welch, Bigelow, & Co., 

Cambridge. 



/ A)l . 



kJ 




CONFORMITY WITH THE INTENTION AND DIRECTION 



THE AUTHOR, 



MUCH TO THE GRATIFICATION OF THE EDITOR, 



THIS WORK 
IS, BY PERMISSION, RESPECT F J^Y I 

ROBERT BONNER, ESQ., 

BY WHOM ITS COMPOSITION WAS 
FIRST SUGGESTED. 



INSCRIBED TO 






EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



THE composition of this work was first suggested 
by Mr. Robert Bonner, who fully appreciated 
the original views and vast experience of Hiram 
Woodruff in all matters pertaining to the art of 
training and driving the trotting-horse. At the 
earnest solicitation of Mr. George Wilkes (the editor 
of " The Spirit of the Times "), and of some other of his 
fri ends, Hiram agreed to undertake it. They believed, 
and their arguments induced him to believe, that such 
a work from him would be a public benefit to the 
owners of horses, and a service to the horse himself. 
From the nature of the avocations to which he had 
devoted himself with unparalleled success for forty 
years, Hiram Woodruff was not a ready penman ; and 
therefore it was not until the writer of this introduc- 
tory preface had promised to act as his amanuensis, 
and to edit the work, that he consented to go on with 
it. Its reception, when some chapters had been pub- 
lished, was such as to establish its value; and all those 
who had been long acquainted with the author clearly 



vi EDITOR'S PREFACE. 

recognized his strong, original turn of thought, and 
painstaking anxiety to make it eminently practical and 
useful. During its composition, there were some de- 
la} T s caused by the great application necessary on the 
part of the author to his business as trainer and 
driver of horses. He had sometimes as many as 
twenty in his charge ; and he felt that at such periods 
he could not, with justice to the work itself and to 
them, continue its composition. 

To suggestions that the public was eager for the 
book, and wanted it completed early, he commonly 
replied that he wanted it completed well. There was, 
he said, no more reason for hurrying out this, his only 
work, than there would be in his hurrying on the edu- 
cation of a horse that he deemed certain to make a 
trotter. He was no believer in the " forcing " pro- 
cess, and always contended that the book would be 
all the better for the extra time he had resolved to 
devote to it. Nothing could exceed his anxiety to 
avoid any thing that by misapplication might be mis- 
chievous. He was eminently a man of clear, strong 
views, and of few, terse words. Many of the most 
valuable and well-tried conclusions of his genius and 
experience will be found set down in his literal 
words in a very few lines. I have never met with a 
man who was so quick and direct in coming at the 
kernel of a question, and who threw away the husk 
and shell so promptly as utterly worthless. 

Just before his last illness, the materials for the com- 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. Vii 

pletion of the book were all arranged, and I received 
Lis directions to that end. During the progress of the 
work, I had some hundreds of interviews with him, 
during which he dictated the matter now presented 
to the reader in this volume. It was his custom to 
read carefully every chapter as it appeared in " The 
Spirit of the Times," and he gave a few directions for 
emendations. These have been strictly followed. His 
memory was marvellous, not only of events, but of 
the little details connected with them; and he had such 
a graphic way of describing matters and things, that 
his hearers and his readers were carried to the scene 
and time, and virtually made spectators of the things 
themselves. He was utterly intolerant of quackery in 
any shape ; and his readers may rely upon it that the 
only way to develop the gifts and capabilities of the 
trotting-horse is to employ those elements which 
Hiram Woodruff brought to the composition of this 
work, — judgment, conscientious painstaking to bo 
right, and much perseverance. 



CONTENTS. 



Editor's Preface • ••«.▼ 

Hiram "Woodruff. • • • rvtt 

Biographical Sketch of the Author xziil 

I. 

Reason for writing the Book. — Necessity for Practical Experience in Train- 
ing. — The Author's Experience. — Improvement in Tracks and Vehicles. 

— Causes of Improvement in Time. — Originality of the American Sys- 
tem. — Its great Superiority to the English System. — Rules as to Break- 
ing from the Trot 37 

II. 

Handling of the Colt. — The Trot a Natural Gait. — Great Speed the Result 
of Long Handling. — Method for the Colt. — Moderation best in Feeding. 

— Early Maturity followed by Early Decay. — The Trotter should last 
Many Years. — Feeding of Weanlings. — No Physic unless the Colt is 
Sick. — Feeding of the Yearling. — The Starving System worse than 
High Feeding 44 

III. 

Feeding of the Two- Year-Old. — Mouthing and Bitting. — Lounging. — Tem- 
per. — Leading on the Road. — Much Walking to be avoided. — When 
harnessed, a Wagon better than a Sulky. — Amount of Work to depend 
on Constitution and Condition. — Remedy for Broken Gait. — Pulling to 
be avoided. — Increase of Feed . . • • .51 

IV. 

Effects of Early Development. — Colts often overworked. — Fast Three-Year- 
Olds and Four- Year-Olds. — Risk of hurting Stamina. — Earlier Maturity 
of Running-Horses. — Evils of overtraining Colts. ..... 59 

V. 

Actual Training of the Three-Year-Old. — No Physic and no Sweat at first. 

— Danger of " OveYmarking." — Strong Feed of Oats and Hay. — Bran- 



X CONTENTS. 

Mashes.— Rubbing the Legs. — Full Supply of "Water. —Management 
before and in the Race. — Strains likely to stand Early Training. — The 
Abdallahs .67 

VI. 

Characteristics of the Stars. — Of the Bashaws. — The Clays. — The Trus- 
tees. — Natural Trotters in England. — Of Trotters that paced. — To 
make Pacers trot. 75 

VII. 

Horses that pace and trot too. — Not to be trusted on the Course. — Trotters 
that amble off in a Pace when first out of the Stable. — Speed, and its 
Relation to Stoutness. — The Gray Mare Peerless. — Styles of Going.- 
Gait of Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. — Bush Messenger's Get. — Ver- 
mont Hambletonian's Get. — Influence of Messenger. — Hobbling in 
Jogging %m 

VIII. 

Treatment the "Winter before Training. — Frozen and Slippery Roads Bad. 

— Fattening up, an Evil. — The Feed in Winter. — Treatment in com- 
plete Let-up. — Clothing. — The Feet. — " Freezing out," Mischievous. — 
Horses that need Blistering. — Food and Treatment. — Stabling ail Win- 
ter. — Treatment and Exercise. — Constitution to be kept in View. — 
Shedding-Time. — Walking Exercise. — Jogging. — No Fast Work at 
First. — No Physic commonly required .90 

IX. 

Feed while Jogging. — Brushing in the Work. — Length of the Brush. — 
Advance of Condition to be noted. — The Feed. — The First Trial. — Of 
the Sweats. — Feed and Clothing afterwards. — Tight Bandaging bad. . 39 

X. 

Work after the Sweat. — Trial after the Sweat. — Preparation for the Trial. 

— Amount of Work. — No Arbitrary Rule possible. — The Mile-Trial. — 
Of Condition, Game, and Bottom. — Work after the First Race. — Prep- 
aration for Three-mile Heats. — Much Slow Work reduces Speed. — 
Time of Three-mile Preparation. — Of the Trials. — Work after the 
Final Trial 106 

XI. 

Stout Horses stand a strong Preparation. — State of the Legs to be watched. 
— Idlewild and Lady Palmer. — No Device a Substitute for Work. — 
Ten-mile Preparation. — A Steady Rating Capacity wanted. — The Prep- 
aration to be Long. — The Feed to be Strong. — Effects of the Work to 
be watched. — The Trials. — Management of the Race. — The Races of 
Kentucky Prince and Hero the Pacer. ........ 113 



CONTENTS. xi 

XII. 

Early Reminiscences. — My First Race. — My Second. — Lady Kate againBt 
Time. — Paul Pry against Time. — The Riders of Thirty Years ago. — 
Requisites of a Good Rider. — Drilling Horses. — Lady Sefton. . ,121 

XIII. 

Messenger's Son, Topgallant. — His Wonderful Endurance. — My Uncle, 
George "Woodruff. — Topgallant's Race when Twenty-two Years Old. — 
His Race when Twenty-four Years Old. — Three-mile Heats. — His Race 
of Three-mile Heats the next Week. ........ 128 

XIV. 

The Indian Horse Lylee. — Runjeet Singh's Passion for Horses — The Bat- 
tles fought for Lylee. — Description of him. — Lady Blanche. — Awful. — 
His Race with Screwdriver. — Blanche, Snowdrop, and Beppo. — Death 
of Blanche. — Ajax and Oneida Chief. — Their Road-Race to Sleighs. — 
Brown Rattler 135 

XV. 

The Trotter Dutchman. — Description of him. — Pedigree doubtful. — Dutch- 
man and Locomotive. — Dutchman and Yankee Doodle. — Dutchman, 
Fanny Pullen, and Confidence. — Dutchman and Lady Slipper. — Dutch- 
man, Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie. — Dutchman and 
Greenwich Maid. — Dutchman and Washington. — Dutchman, Lady Suf- 
folk, and Rattler. — Description of Lady Suffolk and Rattler. . .142 

XVI. 

Dutchman and Lady Suffolk. — Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, Mount Holly, and 
Harry Bluff. — Dutchman and Awful. — Dutchman against Time, Three 
Miles. — The Race and Incidents. 149 

XVIL 

Dutchman and Washington. — Dutchman, Washington, and the Ice Pony. — 
Washington's best Mark. — Dutchman and Rifle. — Dutchman, Ameri- 
cus, and Lady Suffolk. — A Great Race in a Great Storm. — Dutchman, 
Oneida Chief, and Lady Suffolk. — Dutchman's Last Race. — His Death. 156 

XVIII. 

Other Performances of Dutchman. — Application of Facts to Principles. — 
Dutchman's Steady Improvement. — Endurance of Trotters and Run- 
ning-Horses compared 1G3 

XIX. 

The Story of Ripton. — Description of him. — Rip ton and Mount Holly. — 
Ripton and Kate Kearney. — Peter Whelan and George Youngs. — Rip- 
ton and Don Juan. — Necessity of Work and Practice. — Ripton, Dutch- 
man, Confidence, and Spangle. — Ripton, Duchess, and Quaker. — Ripton 
and Revenge. — Ripton and Lady Suffolk. — A Fast, Close Race. . . 1TX 



XU CONTENTS. 

XX. 

Ripton, Brandywine, and Don Juan. — Ripton and Quaker. — Ripton and 
Spangle. — Ripton, Lady Suffolk, and Washington. — Ripton and Confi- 
dence. — Ripton and Americus. — Ripton's Performances in 1842 recapit- 
ulated. — Conclusion enforced. — Time wanted for Maturity. — Ripton 
required much Work 178 

XXI. 

Ripton's Three Matches with Americus. — Ripton in Mud. — Ripton in Snow. 

— Sleighing on the Harlem Road. — Ripton and Confidence. — Owner's 
Instructions. — An Old Horse to be kept Warm between Heats. — Match 
with Bay Boston 185 

XXII. 

Ripton and Lady Sutton. — Lady Sutton and Lady Moscow. — Death of 
Lady Moscow. — Her Burial-place. — Her Produce. — Horses she trotted 
against. — Ripton and Lady Sufiblk. — Ripton, Sorrel Ned, and Snake. 

— Ripton and Jersey. — Ripton's Last Race 192 

XXIII. 

Ability to pull Weight considered. — Form best calculated for it. — Mere 
Bulk useless. — Long Stridors seldom Weight-pullers. — Kemble Jack- 
son. — Description of him. — Kemble Jackson and Washington. — Kem- 
ble Jackson and the Nelson Colt. — Kemble Jackson and Black Harry. — 
Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Lady Brooks, and Pelham. — Kemble Jack- 
son, Mountain Maid, and Flash. — The Kemble Jackson Check. — Kem- 
ble Jackson, O'Blenis, Pet, Iola, Boston Girl, and Honest John. . . 199 

XXIV. 

O'Blenis against the Field. — Immense Attendance at the Race. — Expecta- 
tions that Kemble would break. — His Great Victory. — His Early Death. 

— Weight-pulling Mares. — Lady Palmer. — Peerless. — California Dam- 
sel. — English Theory about Trotting- Weight 205 

XXV. 

The Gray Mare Lady Suffolk. — Her Pedigree. — Place of Breeding. — Sale 
to David Bryan. — Description of Lady Suffolk. — Her Performances. — 
More than Fifteen Years on the Course. — Trotted 138 Races and won 88 
Times. — Suffolk and Sam Patch. — Suffolk and Black Hawk. — Suffolk 
and the Virginia Mare. — Suffolk and Rattler. — Suffolk, Dutchman, and 
Rattler. — Sufiblk and Awful. — Suffolk, Napoleon, Cato, and Ion. — 
Suffolk, Dutchman, and Rattler again. — Sufiblk and Dutchman, . . 211 

XXVI. 

Regarding Early Maturity. — Lady Suffolk and Apollo. — Lady Suffolk and 
Dutchman. — Sufiblk and Cato. — Suffolk, Lady Victory, and Lafayette. 

— Suffolk, Henry, Celeste, and Cato. — Suffolk and Don Juan. — Suffolk 



CONTENTS. Xiil 

and Ellen Jewctt. — Suffolk and Independence. — Suffolk and Dutchman. 

— Suffolk, Celeste, and Napoleon. — Suffolk against Time. — Suffolk 
against Bonaparte. — Suffolk and Aaron Burr 218 

XXVII. 

Suffolk, Confidence, and Washington. — Suffolk, Confidence, and Aaron 
Burr. — Suffolk, Awful, and Aaron Burr. — Suffolk and Itipton. — Suf- 
folk and Oneida Chief the Pacer. — Suffolk and Americus, Five-mile 
Heats. — Suffolk, itipton, and Confidence. — Suffolk and Rifle, vs. Hard- 
ware and Apology. — Long Tails and Docking. — Suffolk and Ripton. — 
Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence. — Suffolk, Beppo, and Oneida Chief. 

— Suffolk, Americus, Ripton, Washington, and Pizarro. — Suffolk, J. C. 
Calhoun, and Fairy Queen 225 

• XXVIII. 

Suffolk, Brown Columbus, and Americus. — More Races with Americus. — 
Suffolk and Duchess. — Suffolk and Moscow. — Suffolk, Moscow, and 
Americus. — Suffolk and James K. Polk the Pacer. — Suffolk and Hec- 
tor. — Suffolk at Saratoga. — Suffolk and Roanoke, the Pacer. — Suffolk 
and Lady Sutton. — Suffolk and Ripton, between Christmas Day and 
New Year's. — Suffolk, Lady Sutton, and Lady Moscow. — Moscow's 
son, Privateer. — Suffolk, Sutton, and Americus. — Suffolk and James 
K.Polk. — Suffolk lamed at Saratoga 233 

XXIX 

Suffolk and Lady Moscow. — Suffolk, Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble. — 
Suffolk and Pelham. — Suffolk, Pelham, and Jack Rossiter. — Lady Suf- 
folk, Lady Sutton, and Pelham. — Suffolk, Trustee, and Pelham. — Breed- 
ing of Trustee. — Description of Trustee. — Suffolk and Long-Island 
Black Hawk. — Description of Black Hawk. — Death of Trustee. . .240 

XXX. 

Lady Suffolk in 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853. — Her Retirement and Death. — The 
Story of Flora Temple. — Opening Chapter of her History, by George 
Wilkes ■ 247 

XXXI. 

Capacity of Small Horses to pull Weight. — Flora Temple and Centreville. — 
Flora and Black Douglas. — Flora and Young Dutchman. — Flora and 
Lady Brooks. — Flora and Highland Maid. — Breeding of Highland 
Maid. — Description of her. — Her Races with Flora 258 

XXXII. 

Flora Temple and Tacony. — Description of Tacony. — Flora, Green-Moun- 
tain Maid, and Lady Vernon. — Description of Green-Mountain Maid. — 
Flora and Rhode Island. — Flora goes to New Orleans, comes back, and 
is purchased by Mr. Pettee. — Flora and .Mac — Flora and Jack Waters. 



xiv CONTENTS. 

—Flora and Sontag.— Flora's Match Twenty Miles to Wagon.— Flora 
and Know-Nothing. — Description of Know-Nothing, afterwards Lancet. 
—Flora and Lady Franklin. — Flora and Chicago Jack.— Flora, Frank 
Forrester, Chicago Jack, and Miller's Damsel 269 

XXXIII. 

The Time-Test. — Saddle-Horses. — Riders of Trotters. — Mace, Murphy, 
and Doble. — Flora and Lancet. — Trusting to Trials. — Flora and Ta- 
cony. — Flora distances him in 2n5. 21£s. —The True Explanation of 
that Heat. — Caution to Young Drivers 274 

XXXIV. 

Flora and Lancet.— The Morgan Horses.— Ethan Allen.— His Breeding.— 
His Produce.— Flora and Ethan Allen.— Flora's Winter-Quarters.— 
Flora and Rose of Washington. — Want of Condition sure to heat any 
thing. — Value of a Race in Public to produce Condition. . . .281 

XXXV. 

Introduction of Hippodroming. — Flora, Lancet, Miller's Damsel, and Red- 
bird. — Flora and Brown Dick. — Flora purchased by Mr. McDonald. — 
Hippodroming again. — Flora and Prince. — Flora and Ike Cook. — Flora 
and Reindeer. — The coming Horses, Princess and George M. Patchen. . 288 

XXXVI. 

Flora Temple and Ethan Allen.— Flora and Princess. — Description of Prin- 
cess.— Her Driver, James Eoff. — His Artful Strategy and Inveterate 
Humbug. — Princess beats Flora Two-mile Heats. — Flora wins, Mile- 
Heats, Three in Five. — The Best Previous Time beaten in all the Heats. 295 

XXXVII. 

Flora Temple and Princess again. — Flora wins Two-Mile Heats. — They go 
Hippodroming. — Flora trots in 2m. 21|s., with Ike Cook, at Cincinnati. 
— Her Performance at Kalamazoo. — 2m. 19|s 303 

XXXVIII? 

Flora Temple and George M. Patchen. — Description of Patchen. — His 
Pedigree. — Patchen's Early Performances. — Dan Mace as a Driver and 
Rider. — Flora and Ethan Allen. — Flora and Patchen again. — The best 
Race ever made by Flora, and the best a Stallion ever made. . . . 309 

XXXIX. 

Flora Temple and Patchen, Two-mile Heats.— Flora and Patchen at Phila- 
delphia. — Outside Interference 315 

XL. 

Flora Temple and Patchen again. — A dishonored Check. — Appeal to aid 
Decision of the Judges. — Flora and Brown Dick. — Flora and Ethan 
Allen. —Flora and Patchen again. —Flora against Dutchman's Time. . 523 



CONTENTS. xv 

XLI. 

Flora Temple and George M. Patchen on a Tour.— Flora and "Widow Ma- 
chree. — Description of "Widow Machree. — Flora and Princess again. — 
Flora and John Morgan. — Breeding of John Morgan. — Desciiption of 
him 320 

XLII. 

Flora Temple and John Morgan. — The Fastest Two-mile Race that had 
heen trotted. — Remarks upon the Race. — The Three-mile-heat Race. 

— Flora against Ethan Allen and a Running-Mate. — Flora before Gen. 
Grant. — The "Widow Machree. . , 335 

XLIII. 

The King of the Trotters, Dexter. — Description and breeding of him.— His 
Purchase by Mr. George Alley. — Ilis History prior to his coming to me. 

— His First and Second Trials. — Dexter's First Race. — He beats Stone- 
wall Jackson, Lady Collins, and Gen. Grant. — Dexter and Doty's Mare. 

— Dexter, Shark, and Lady Shannon. — Dexter, Shark, and Hamble- 
tonian. — Dexter hits himself, and is drawn. — Evil of much Scoring. — 
Dexter's Trial in November, 2m. 23^s. 34' 

XLIV. 

Dexter's Three-mile neats Match with Stonewall Jackson of Hartford. — 
Description of Stonewall. — Dexter and Gen. Butler. — Dexter and Lady 
Thorn. — Description of Lady Thorn. — The Three-Mile-Heat Race under 
Saddle. — Dexter and Gen Butler under Saddle. — Dexter, Butler, and 
George "Wilkes. — Dexter against Time, to beat 2m. 19s. . . .355 

XLV. 

Dexter and Butler to "Wagons, Mile Heats. — Two-Mile Heats to "Wagons. — 
The Best ever made. — Remarks upon the Race. — Dexter at Astoria. — 
Eoff and George M. Patchen, Jun. — Dexter offered for Sale. — Dexter 
and George M. Patchen, Jun. — Eoff's Strategy 362 

XL VI. 

Dexter sold to George Truss'el. — Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Commodore 
Vanderbilt. — Dexter goes to Budd Doble. — Dexter and George M. 
Patchen at Philadelphia 371 

XL VII. 

Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Toronto Chief under Saddle. — Dexter and George 
M. Patchen, Jun., at Avon Springs. — The Track Short. — Short Track no 
Record. — Dexter, Patchen, Jun., and Rolla Golddust at Buffalo. — Dex- 
ter and Butler under Saddles. — Dexter trots in 2m. 18s. — Dexter, 
Patchen, Jun., and Butler, at Cleveland. — Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at 
Detroit. — Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Chicago. — Dexter and Butler 



XVI CONTENTS. 

under Saddle. — Dexter and Patchen at Milwaukee. — Same at Adrian, 
Toledo, Kalamazoo, and "Wheeling. — Dexter and Magoogler the Pacer 
at Pittsburg 379 

XL VIII. 

.flexter, Polly Ann the Pacer, and Patchen, Jun., at Philadelphia. — D'ster, 
Silas Rich, and Patchen, Jun., at Baltimore. — Dexter under Saddle 
against Time. — Dexter and Silas Rich at Washington. — Dexter's Per- 
formances that Year considered. — Integrity and Capacity of Budd 
Doble. — No Reason to believe that Dexter then reached his best. — Ilia 
Fine Points. — Dexter compared to Peerless. — The Auburn Horse. — 
Grand Combination of Qualities in Dexter 385 

XLIX. 

On Driving. — Difficulty of laying down Rules. — Importance of a Sensitive 
Mouth. — The Bit proper for a Colt. — Much Use of" bitting" Apparatus 
mischievous. — The Bits in cold Weather to be warmed before Use. — A 
light, fine Hand required. — Pulling to be avoided. — Gentleness and 
Firmness. — The Horse to be harnessed so as to be at ease. — Dead Pull 
an Evil. — Proper Position of the Driver. — The Shift of the Bit.— How 
to hold the Reins. — Severe Bits bad 3?1 

L. 

Of Breaking in Trotting. — A Gaining Break. — Snatching to be avoided. — 
How to catch the Horse to his Trot. — Nature of the catching-pull. — 
The Horse to to be steadied when he has caught. — A Break sometimes 
Desirable. — How to bring it about. — Confidence of the Horse in his 
Driver. — Sagacity of Horses. — To prevent a Break. — Signs of one 



coming. 



398 



Appendix *° 5 



HIRAM WOODRUFF. 



IT has been remarked by philosophers, that the progress of the 
human race is to be traced more distinctly in the individual his- 
tory of its great men, than by any other process known to the human 
observation. It has even been held by some writers, and among 
them by Napoleon the Third, that the most familiar method by 
which Providence confers his greatest benefits upon mankind is in 
the raising up of favored men at certain periods, who, being imbued 
with the new principles which are to advance the fortunes of their 
era, are enabled " to stamp the age with the seal of their genius, 
and to accomplish in a few years the labor of many centuries." 
If this agreeable theory is correct, the humble trainer and driver 
who departed this life at Jamaica Plains, Long Island, on the 
morning of the 15th of March, 1867, may fairly rank among 
the great men of his period, and be frankly awarded a full share 
of the honors which are due to those who have been benefactors 
to their country. We measure genius, not merely by a man's social 
status, but by " the empire of his ideas," the results which they 
enforce, and the benefits which inure through them to the world. 
To bring this principle to its test for the purposes of our theme, we 
find that there are but two nations of the earth which possess a race 
of animals known as the trotting-horse. One of these nations is 
Russia ; the other, the United States. In the first-named country, 
we find an animal proceeding from the Arabian fountain, fused, it 
is said, upon the Flanders stock, which is called the Orloff trotter ; 
but this breed, though bending the knee when striding, and though 
having in other respects the trotting action, is considered by good 
judges as being only half-developed. In this country, on the other 
hand, we have " a paragon of animals," which is already the wonder 



XYiil HIRAM WOODRUFF. 

of the ■world ; and which, from the familiar, affectionate, and 
almost universal use made of him on this continent, and from the 
growing demand which is made for him in other countries, has 
already become an American commercial product, of vast impor- 
tance and proportions. It is certain that this animal is an 
American production ; as much so, in fact, as the thorough-bred 
horse, which disdainfully gives weight at Goodwood and Ascot to 
the purer descendants of his Arabian ancestry, is a creation of the 
English breeding-stable and the English race-course. And it is 
also certain, that the development of the American trotter to its 
present marvellous pre-eminence over all other breeds of horses 
used for harness and road purposes is more due to Hiram Wood- 
ruff than to any, if not than to all other men who ever lived. 
Those who know the history of trotting in tliis country, and who 
recall to mind the average speed of the fast harness-horse when 
Hiram identified himself with its advancement, will not hesitate 
to say, that he doubled the value of the original element on which 
he worked, and, at the end of a few years, gave a great animal to 
the country, in place of what had been only a good animal before. 
It is recognized by those who are versed in the origin and char- 
acteristics of the American trotter, that the highest type of that 
invaluable breed descends from the English thorouirh-bred horse 
Messenger, which was imported into this country in the latter part 
of the last century. Indeed, so widely is this fact acknowledged, 
that breeders of experience, in view of the excellence of which he 
was the founder, and of the vast extent of the interest which has 
proceeded from his loins, have been heard to declare, that, when 
that old gray came charging doAvn the gang-plank of the ship 
which brought him over, the value of not less than one hundred 
millions of dollars struck our soil. If that be true, the man who 
developed Messenger's value through his progeny can hardly be 
regarded as less than a genius, as well as a public benefactor. It 
cannot be doubted, therefore, that Hiram Woodruff was the 
man of his period for the development of the interest with which 
he identified himself ; and in proportion to the importance of that 
interest will his merits be valued by posterity. In all the future 
of our particular turf-history, his figure will loom up to the contem- 
plation of its followers, as the sole great man who had been pro- 
duced, in connection with that interest, down to the day of his de 
cease. 



HIRAM WOODRUFF. xix 

But Hiram Woodruff brought something more tc his vocation 
than a mere intuitive perception of the new principles by which 
the trotter was to be improved. He brought a generous, cheerful, 
kindly nature ; and his faculties were insensibly buoyed and sus- 
tained by that invariable accompaniment of true genius, — a good 
heart. He had, moreover, one of those happy dispositions of 
mixed simplicity and candor, which commands at once the confi- 
dence of men, and which, when its influences are applied to the 
secondary animals, fascinates and subjects them completely to the 
owner's will. There is nothing which recognizes the subtle in- 
stincts of affection so quickly, and which knows them so unmis- 
takably, as a horse ; and much of Hiram's facility of communica- 
ting his purpose to the animal he rode or drove or trained pro- 
ceeded from his power of making it love him. Like Earf.y, his 
doctrine was kindness ; and, when he walked through his stables, 
the undoubted accord which he had established with its glossy in- 
mates was at once evinced by the low whinnies of welcome which 
would greet his kindly presence as he went from stall to stall. 
They knew him for the friend who mixed among them, almost as 
if he were an equal, and who never ceased to talk to them as if 
they were his equals when he took them out for their exercise, or 
even when he encouraged them during the strife of the arena. 
What would they not do for that man, which he could make them 
understand ? and how could they fail to know his wish, when, in- 
spiring them with his chirrup, and shaking the bit in their mouths, 
he " lifted " them, as it were, and sent them whirling with an unknown 
velocity along the course ? Perhaps Flora Temple was the most 
remarkable instance of the great horseman's conquest over animal 
affection during his career. She loved him with an unmistakable 
cordiality ; and when he and she were engaged in some of their 
most notable struggles, the man and horse seemed to be but parts 
of the same creature, animated by the fury of a common purpose. 
Many drivers have been heard to wonder how it was that Hiram 
obtained such a mysterious mastery over his horses on all occa- 
sions ; but the secret was, that he gained their confidence through 
their affections ; and, after that, every thing was easy. The reason 
why women so easily fascinate a horse is because of the tenderness 
of their approach ; and, so far as gentleness went, Hiram Wood- 
ruff had the nature of a woman. 

Commanding the horse, therefore, to the absolute extent he did, 



XX HIRAM WOODRUFF. 

there is no reason for wonder that he made his steed understand 
himself, as well as know his master. One half of a horse's speed 
is in the mind of his rider or driver. When it is known to the 
world that a horse has made a mile a second or half-second faster 
than it was ever made before, some rider of some other horse, 
nerving himself with the knowledge of the fact, and infusing that 
knowledge into his horse by dint of his own enthusiasm, sends him 
a second or two faster still ; and the result of the mental emula- 
tion is a permanent improvement which never is retraced. Hiram* 
Woodruff was the first to take this mental grip of the powers of 
the trotting-horse ; and the result, in his case, was, that, by dint of 
his own mind, he carried him triumphantly over the gap which 
lies between 2.40 and 2.18. 

There are yet other characteristics of Hiram Woodruff, 
which, in bidding him farewell, we are called upon to notice. 
Viewed in connection with his peculiar walk in life, these traits are, 
if possible, more remarkable than his genius ; and they arrest the 
attention as matters of surprise. We allude to his incorruptible 
personal integrity under the usual temptations of his station. It is 
not enough, therefore, to say that Hiram Woodruff was an hon- 
est man. He was more than that ; for he was utterly incapable 
even of sharp practices, or meannesses of any kind. Happen what 
might, he would not conceal any of his opinions from an employer, 
or retain an employment by misrepresenting the merits of an ani- 
mal intrusted to his care. And, when he brought his horse to the 
arena, it was certain he would be honestly driven, however the 
money might be on. The most abandoned men who frequent 
the trotting-tracks dared not, even after he had been on the turf 
but a short time, venture to approach him with a dishonorable 
proposition ; for they had discovered his invincible integrity, and 
felt, that, in such case, their exposure was inevitable. In this re- 
spect, and taking all things together, Hiram Woodruff may be 
regarded as a phenomenon. Here is a man, born, as it were, in 
the very dregs of the stable, thrown constantly among the vicious 
and depraved, and frequently tempted by the most alluring oppor- 
tunities of profit, who preserves his integrity intact, in the midst 
of a general society largely tainted with corruption, and during a 
period in which the honesty of almost every public officer is touched 
with suspicion. It is not singular, therefore, that no trainer or 
driver ever envied Hiram his business or disputed his superiority. 



HIRAM WOODRUFF. xxi 

His virtues were above the aim of jealousy ; and his mission was as 
much to prove to bad men the value of leading a good life, as to 
improve the condition of the horse. He was a boon not only to 
those of his own order, but to society at large. He never betrayed 
his trust ; never was suspected of a lie; and, if good deeds can 
charter a man to be regarded as a Christian, Hiram Woodruff 
certainly was one. 

On the 22d of February, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday 
with his friends at home ; and he exhibited on that occasion, 
while alluding to the " events " for which he stood engaged, the 
same cheerful confidence which marked all his expectations. He 
now lies on that slope of Cypress Hill which looks toward the 
course on which he has earned so much of his renown. 

Many a throng which will gather during the coming seasons 
to witness the contests of the horses he had in part prepared will 
turn gloomily to that cold hill ; and there will be none among them 
who will not feel that there is a great void in their midst, and that 
the Master has gone. 

George Wilkes. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. 



BY CHARLES J. FOSTER. 



" He was a man ! take him for all in all, 
I shall not look upon his like again ! " 

OUR dear, esteemed friend, Hiram Woodruff, died on the morn- 
ing of Friday, March 15, 1867, and was buried on the following 
Sunday, in the Cypress-hills Cemetery, between East New York 
and the house he kept so long. It has become our mournful duty to 
sketch, as nearly as we may, some incidents of his life, and to show 
what manner of man he was. Hiram Washington Woodruff was 
born on the 2 2d of February, 1817 ; and consequently, at the time 
of his death, he was fifty years and twenty-one days old. His 
father, John Woodruff, afterwards called by his friends and familiar 
acquaintances " Colonel Ogden," lived at Birmingham, a small 
place near Flemington, in Huntington County, New Jersey, where 
his wife bore him his second son, Hiram. The eldest son was 
Isaac, and the youngest William. These brothers, with their sister 
Margaret (Mrs. Nelson), still survive. The Woodruffs were a 
family of horsemen. The old colonel was noted as a trainer. His 
brother, George Woodruff, was still more famous in that capacity, 
and was without an equal perhaps, except Peter Whelan, as a 
rider of trotting-horses, until his nephew appeared, and surpassed 
them both. It was at one time intended that Hiram should learn 
a trade, and that of a hatter was thought suitable. But in him, 
boy as -e was, the call " to horse " was already like that of the 

xxiii 



XXIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

trumpet to the trooper when it sounds " boots and saddle." Very 
early in life he began to ride ; and the foundation of his future 
immense and accurate knowledge of horsemanship, in all its 
branches and in all their details, was laid while he was a little boy. 
He was but fifty years old at the time of his death ; and, forty years 
before, he had ridden the famous trotting-horse Topgallant — a 
son of imported Messenger — at his exercise. Thus the first horse 
with whom we can certainly associate this most celebrated of 
trainers, riders, and drivers, was one worthy of his own high re- 
nown. Upon the merits of this game old horse, who was spavined 
in both hind-legs, and yet in his twenty-fourth year beat Whale- 
bone three-mile heats, Hiram loved to dwell. 

Top-Gallant was one of a lot of famous horses in the stable of 
George Woodruff, and Hiram learned his first regular lessons in 
horsemanship from his uncle. His first race was ridden at the 
Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, where George had Top- 
gallant, Whalebone, Columbus, and others of great note, in training. 
The gentlemen who frequented the ground one afternoon offered a 
purse, to be trotted for by any horses that the boys could pick up. 
Young Hiram ( he was then fourteen years old ) knew that there 
Was at plough in a field hard by a horse called Shaking Quaker, 
that had trotted on Long Island. This horse he got, and with him 
he won the purse. In two or three weeks it was followed by 
another race for a larger amount, Mr. F. Duffy having backed his 
mare Lady Kate to trot fifteen miles an hour. He selected 
Hiram and another boy to ride, never imagining' that one of them 
could ride a fast trotter a whole hour without a rest. Duffy, in fact, 
played a keen game ; for he led the mare up and down by the bridle, 
with a heavy saddle on, and induced the backers of time to believe 
that he was going to ride her himself. His money was well laid, 
and the time for the start was near, when the backers of the watch, 
to their surprise and confusion, saw little Hiram come out of the 
bushes, with his light saddle on his arm, to ride the mare. She 
trotted sixteen miles in a trifle less than fifty-seven minutes, and 
Hiram rode her eight-miles and three quarters only. 

Two years later he rode in another time-match, and acquired still 
higher distinction. His father was then keeping the Harlem-park 
Course ; and there Mr. William Niblo had in training, under his 
own supervision, a gray gelding called Paul Pry, a grandson of im- 
ported Messenger. This horse was matched for two thousand 



OF THE AUTHOR. xxv 

dollars a side, to trot sixteen miles an hour, with two hundred and 
fifty dollars a side on every quarter over that distance up to 
seventeen and three-quarter miles. Hiram rode Paul Pry at his 
work, and was chosen to steer him in his race on the Union 
Course. The confidence Mr. Niblo had in the strength, endur- 
ance, and judgment of the lad of sixteen was signally justified 
by the event. Hiram rode the horse eighteen miles in a fraction 
les« than fifty-nine minutes, and the last quarter was jogged out at 
that. Considering the great difficulty there is in riding fast 
trotters many miles at a time, and recollecting the fact that Pai.l 
Pry was a puller, this was a very remarkable feat; and those 
among the trainers and amateurs who looked ahead must have 
concluded that in this lad there was the stuff of which great men 
are made. Some have said that Hiram Woodruff first dis- 
tinguished himself by riding Dutchman ; but it is an error. He 
was famous before Dutchman had left the string-team which hauled 
the brick-cart. 

At this time, and for many years afterwards, Hiram was a 
model of strength, grace, activity, and suppleness. He was a 
swift runner and a mighty jumper and leaper, as well as a bold 
and skilful rider; and his stamina was afterwards found to be 
such, that Jack Harrison, a noted matchmaker of those days, 
publicly offered to back him to ride different horses a hundred 
miles in five hours. The offer was not accepted ; for the sports- 
men had already learned, that, with uncommon fine constitutional 
stamina, young Woodruff possessed sinews of steel, nerves that 
could not be shaken, and an intuitive sagacity which made him 
master of almost any situation, and capable of accomplishing 
almost any feat. All this, too, was accompanied by a cheerful 
modesty of disposition, which endeared him to his associates, and 
a high rectitude of principle, which his friends can now justly 
boast was never in his whole life impaired. His integrity, indeed, 
through life, has been of that adamantine and obstinate degree 
lhat it never took the seeminG; of a flaw. It was of that hia;h 
quality which may be compared to the constancy and courage of a 
bull-dog of true English breed, which may be cut up piecemeal, 
but can never be subdued. 

It was while here at Harlem that Hiram was fortunate enough 
to win the affections of Miss Sarah Ann Howe, a young lady of 
great personal beauty and much sweetness of disposition. His fa- 



xxvi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

tlier soon moved to tho old Centreville House, near the Centreville 
Course ; and Hiram went with him. On Christmas Day, 1836, and 
therefore before he had quite arrived at his twentieth birthday, 
Hiram Woodruff was married to Sarah Ann Howe, at Jamaica. 
He took his young bride home with him to his lather's ; and now, 
over his grave, after his more than thirty years of wedded life have 
ended, his friends can truly say that never was man more blessed 
in an excellent wife than he, in her he loved so well, and has left 
to mourn behind him. 

It was not long after his marriage when Dutchman came into 
his hands. The first race he won with him was against Lady Suf- 
folk and Rattler. The latter was trained and ridden by William 
Whelan, brother of Peter of famous memory, and himself now sur- 
vivor of his old and valued friend Hiram. Out of this race grew 
that at three-mile heats between Dutchman and Rattler, which 
was won by the former in four heats. The two friends latterly, in 
their reviews of what happened thirty years ago, used to ride this 
race again. Hiram would show how it was won; and Whelan 
argue that it was lost because Rattler was a poor feeder, and so, at 
that time, not quite equal to Dutchman in lasting qualities. These 
young riders and trainers were now " the coming men." George 
Woodruff and Peter Whelan were to have successors as great, if 
not greater, than themselves. The seas soon separated the young 
men. Whelan went to England with Rattler, where he beat every 
thing with ridiculous ease, and issued a challenge to the world. 
Thereupon an English merchant of New York sounded Hiram 
Woodruff, to ascertain whether he would go to England to train 
and ride Dutchman if the horse were purchased. Hiram was not 
very anxious to leave his home and his young wife ; but his confi- 
dence was great in Dutchman, and he consented to go. But the 
bargain for the horse went off. His owners were offered two 
thousand seven hundred dollars and a black mare, then in 
Hiram's hands, for him. They wanted three thousand dollars 
and the mare. Whelan thinks that Rattler might have de- 
feated Dutchman in England, as the former had got to feeding 
strong there. But Hiram has often told us that the probabilities 
were all the other way, as Dutchman's great speed was only j ust 
coming to him when he beat Rattler in the race of four heats. In 
Hiram's hands, Dutchman performed three great feats. The first 
was the defeat of Rattler in the great race of four three-mile heats. 



OF THE AUTHOR. xxvii 

The second was the distancing of Awful, three miles in harness, in 
7m. 41s. The third was the time-match, three miles, in which the 
mark, still standing at the head of the record, 7m. 32is., was made. 
Hiram has always maintained, and no doubt with good reason, 
that Dutchman could have greatly surpassed this. In the second 
mile, which was trotted in 2m. 28s., Isaac Woodruff, who was on 
the running companion, conceived that Hiram was going too fast, 
and called to him to pull. The third mile was in 2m. 30s., and 
Dutchman was pulled all the way. It was Hiram's conviction that 
he could have trotted this in 2m. 26s. This very remarkable 
horse was not coarse, as many suppose him to have been. He 
showed breeding in form as well as bottom, and was savage in dis- 
position. After his time-match he went to Philadelphia, and 
Hiram beat him two or three times with Washington. But he 
returned into Hiram's hands, and trotted his famous races with 
Americus under his direction. 

Hiram Woodruff had then just reached his twenty-sixth year, 
and had fully entered upon that career of hard work and useful- 
ness which was increasing in importance every day, which finally 
made him one of the best known and most renowned men in 
America, and in which his genius, his faithfulness, and his sagacity 
enabled him to do his country weighty and honorable service. 
The greatest nations, and many of the greatest men that have ex- 
isted in the world, have held, that, next to the improvement and 
culture of mankind itself, the improvement and cultivation of the 
horse is one of the best and mightiest of tasks. Our country is 
distinguished abroad, as well as at home, for having effected the 
greatest and most surprising improvement in the horse of daily 
use, the trotter, that is mentioned in the annals of horsemanship, 
from the period of the misty fables of Castor, Pollux, and Chiron 
the Centaur, down to this day. Now, for this improvement the 
country is more indebted to Hiram Woodruff than to any other 
man — or any ten men. Nobody with any character for sense and 
veracity will dispute this. 

Before he had done with Dutchman on the turf, Ripton had 
come to Hiram Woodruff; and this "white-legged pony" soon 
became as great a favorite with him, as great a prodigy with the 
public, and as great a scourge to those who stood against him, as 
Dutchman had been. He it was that first made two miles in 5m. 
7s., in harness, going against Lady Suffolk ; and he finally became 



xxviii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

such a thorn in Bryan's side, that he declared the mare should not 
trot against him any more, unless it was under saddle. It was in 
driving Ripton against Americus, that Hiram displayed one of his 
finest exhibitions of coolness, craft, and science. He won the race 
against Ameri:us when a hundred to five had been laid on the 
latter horse. Ripton was one of Hiram's prime favorites. His 
fine speed, his stoutness, his grand action, his turbulent spirits, and 
indomitable game, were themes that Hiram never tired of when he 
had once bes;un. To hear him and Dan Pfifer, who took care of the 
•* white-legged pony," go on about him, with Sim Hoagland and 
Whelan to drop in suggestive and sage remarks here and there, 
was a treat indeed. The " white-legged pony " was also a prime 
favorite with Hiram's devoted friend Oliver Marshall. Friends ! 
when shall we truly realize that the tongue which spoke with such 
wisdom, enthusiasm, and terse eloquence, at these, our well-remem- 
bered sittings, is silent now forever ? 

It is beyond the scope of this sketch, even to mention by name 
all the horses which Hiram trained, rode, and drove. His own 
work (which follows) may be referred to as regards those of most 
renown who preceded the era of Flora Temple. He was always 
fond of the Messenger blood. Beginning with old Topgallant, 
and coming along down with Paul Pry, grandson of Messenger; 
Lady Suffolk, his granddaughter ; Ajax and Hector, sons of Ab- 
dallah; and then to the Hambletonians, of whom he made the 
wonder, Dexter, — what famous horses of that famous strain came 
to his hands to have their excellencies made manifest ! Flora her- 
self has a dash of the blood ; and she, too, was the work of Hiram's 
strong, patient, and cunning hand. When he was twenty-eight 
years old, Hiram removed to Harlem, and became proprietor of the 
track there which his father had had. He kept it two years, and 
then removed to Boston, where he was proprietor of the Cambridge 
Course from 1847 to 1850. When he returned to New York, he 
went into business in the Union Saloon, Broadway ; which he kept 
in partnership with Albert Losee. But the City was not by any 
means the place for Hiram. His was a spirit which delighted in 
the country, by hill and stream, and where, with hand upon the 
shoulder of his horse, he could hear the booming of the wild waves 
on the beach. So, near " old Long Island's sea-girt shore," in the 
spring of 1851, he took the house at the foot of the hill, on the 
Jamaica Road, between East New York and the Corners ; and this 



OF THE AUTHOR. xxix 

was known far and wide for two or three years as " Hiram Wood- 
ruffs." When he left that, it was to remove to the house in which 
he died ; and here Ids friends of late years were wont to assemble 
in great numbers around him. He had now reached his prime, 
and gained a station and esteem with the world at large such as 
no other man in the like capacity had ever attained to. Hundreds 
of thousands who had never seen the man held him in regard ; and 
all through the regions of the West his name was in their mouths, 
familiar as a household word. In the Eastern States, too, he was 
very much respected and beloved. He often visited Boston and 
Pre vidence, and these trips were his great holidays. His arrival 
at these places was the signal for general rejoicing. Troops of 
friends crowded round him to express their satisfaction, and mani- 
fest their attachment. When thus away from home, the deep and 
abiding love he cherished for his wife was seen by his nearest 
friends in his behavior. She was never out of his thought ; and 
when his friends got him to stay a day or tAvo longer, he always 
sent despatches home. He loved music ; and one there was in the 
Eastern States who used to sing a song called " My Sarah." This 
never failed to move Hiram to tears. 

One other recreation he greatly enjoyed. It was his custom to 
go down upon the shores of Jamaica Bay, in the summer time, and 
there, camping out in a shady grove with a few friends, spend the 
days in fishing. Oliver Marshal and Henry Collins were common- 
ly his associates in these excursions. Dan Pfifer was often there ; 
and Sim Hoagland drove over to the camp most days. Hiram and 
Dan had matches at fishing as they had at training and driving. 
Hiram took great catches of blue-fish when they were running ; 
but in spite of all his delicate manipulations of the line, — and he 
had a finger as true as that of a player on a harp-string, — he 
could never catch a sheep's-head. Pfifer caught a few ; but there 
was another of their friends who beat them both, far and away, in 
catching this delectable and noble fish. It was William Shaw, 
another fine horseman, whose youth and manhood had been mostly 
passed in training runners. His death, some time ago, was suita- 
bly, noticed. He went home ill from a party at Hiram's, given to 
celebrate the wedding of his daughter to young Hiram Howe, and 
never left his bed alive. He died of a relapse of fever, contracted 
in the service of his country at New Orleans during the great war. 
Henry Collins was always on the fishing-excursions, and amused 



XXX BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

the others by his sallies of dry, quaint wit. His death was not 
long after that of Mr. Shaw ; and it was a heavy blow to Hi- 
ram, Collins had been such a loving, faithful friend and compan- 
ion. It is, indeed, to be especially remarked, that Hiram Wood- 
ruff had, above most men, the gift of inspiring true affection. It 
was the pure sincerity and simplicity of his nature which effected 
this. He was as open and frank as a child : he could not even 
think a rascality ; and rascals as well as honest men knew it. Then 
his kindliness of disposition, and generosity, won the heart at once. 
If a neighbor wanted any thing, — if the poor, the sick, the aged, 
or the feeble wanted aid, — he gave it ; not patronizingly or pomp- 
ously, but just as though he was paying them something that 
he owed. Alas 1 we have looked our last upon this great, loving, 
charitable, child-like man. 

He was not of a demonstrative nature, except among his cher- 
ished and trusted friends ; but the least sign of suffering, or need 
of sympathy, in any one, opened the flood-gates of his heart. His 
face was square, with immense firmness about the jaw. His fore- 
head was broad and lofty ; his eye, a deep, dark gray. It was 
eminently a thoughtful face; and there was a sweetness in his 
smile which will not be forgotten. Of late years the writer of 
this has been closely intimate with Hiram, and has often pondered 
over his virtues and great parts. His scrupulous regard for the 
feelings of others was always shown when he mentioned other 
trainers and drivers. In the composition of his book he carefully 
avoided any thing that could by possibility wound or injure any of 
them. It was, too, his pleasure to mention them individually, so 
that he might leave a testimony to their capacity and worth. This 
was so like the man ! He would do good by stealth. He began 
his work on the American Trotter at the earnest solicitation of 
Mr. Wilkes and other friends, who felt convinced, and at last con- 
vinced him, that, out of his vast store of wisdom and experience in 
relation to trotting-horses, he might set down much that would be 
of value to the world. It was highly appreciated. The people 
hailed it all over the country. English papers copied chapter after 
chapter at length ; and his old horsemen friends harangued each 
other about it, declaring, "It's capital, I tell you; and every 
word jest like Hiram ! I didn't know that he could write any 
thing more than a letter ; but, in writing about horses, he can beat 
'em all \ " Hiram himself took pride and interest in it ; and hr. re- 



OF THE AUTHOR. xxxi 

in again he manifested another trait in regard to his wife. As 
soon as the paper arrived, containing his latest chapter, he peremp- 
torily ordered it to be taken up to Mrs. Woodruff. " For," said he 
to us, " she reads it out to the ladies that call upon her ; and, be- 
tween you and me, she thinks it good 1 " Poor friend ! he had great 
and just confidence in his wife's capacity; but when ordering 
" The Spirit " up-stairs, as soon as it arrived, much to the dis- 
satisfaction of some who wanted to read it down-stairs, it never 
occurred to him that he could have as many copies as he pleased. 
His uncle George and Crepe Collins were much pleased with the 
work as it progressed ; so were Oliver Marshall and Sim Hoag- 
land. Some fools thought he was not the author of it ; as if any 
other living man but he, no matter what might be that man's ca- 
pacity, could have produced it. 

His opinions about horses and horse-matters were decided when 
once formed ; but he was far-seeing and cautious in the making of 
them. Mr. Bonner's gray mare, Peerless, was at the very top of 
his esteem, — his model of a fast and lasting trotter. Like Rip- 
ton, Kemble Jackson, Flora Temple, and so many others, she was 
formed by him. Dexter stood as high as any for racing-purposes. 
Hiram amazed us when, early in that famous, horse's career, he 
predicted that he would beat the world. Many thought him al- ' 
most crazy to match Dexter against Stonewall Jackson of Hart- 
ford, three-mile heats. Dexter's two greatest races in his hands 
were the two-mile heats to wagons ; in which he beat Butler the 
second heat in 4m. 56|s. ; and the mile heats, three in five, in har- 
ness, in which he beat Butler and Vanderbilt in five heats. But- 
ler won the first and second heats, and Eoff considered that he 
had the money in his pocket. Odds of ten to one were laid upon 
the black horse, and great sums were pending. Dexter was sore 
and lame. Nothing but a mighty effort could save the race ; but 
the great master of the art, the King of American Horsemen, was 
behind the brown gelding, and he now displayed one more of his 
grand masterpieces. He won the third heat. The fourth he won 
in the unprecedented time of 2m. 24^s. ; and Vanderbilt was dis- 
tanced. The backers of the Contraband stood aghast. The men 
from the South Side gave a roar that might have been heard at 
Jamaica Bay. " We have got you," they cried to the friends of 
Butler : " Eoff is a captain, but this is the Old Field-Marshal here 
behind Dexter 1 " Thousands were present ; but there was not a 



XXXil BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

sound to be heard, save the tramp of these famous horses, as their 
more famous drivers brought them along, in scoring for the decid- 
ing heat. Eoff drove with immense resolution and skill : but the 
hand of the great master was upon the reins of Dexter, and he 
won the fifth heat in the marvellous time of 2m. 24|s. " Now I'll 
tell you what it is," said a gentleman who had lost heavily on '.he 
race : " it is twenty or thirty per cent, in favor of any horse that 
Hiram Woodruff drives, — I don't care who drives the other I 
I've paid dear enough for that opinion ; and it's mine 1 " 

Lady Emma was another held very high in the judgment of 
Hiram, and her owner was fast in his dearest esteem ; but, at the 
end of the last season that the great trainer and driver was ever 
to see, the horse of his heart was Mr. Bonner's chestnut, the fa- 
mous Auburn Horse. Very late last fall we took one of our ac- 
customed drives over to Hiram's, and found all about the place in 
a sort of pleasant commotion. Hiram Howe, Pelham John, Long 
Tom Farrell, Dan Delahay, and several others, were full of what 
the Auburn Horse had done that morning. Nothing was ever 
seen like it, they averred, since old Pocahontas the pacer dis- 
tanced Hero in 2m. 1 7^s. The horse had, unquestionably, come 
up the stretch with such an electric burst of speed as had amazed 
' the spectators. It never was Hiram's practice to talk about his 
horses to Mrs. Woodruff; but, on this occasion, he had no sooner 
returned from the course, than he went in, and told her that he had 
never ridden so fast behind a trotter in his life as on that morning. 
This we had from Mrs. Woodruff the same day. When we 
reached Hiram, in the stable-yard, he made use of the very same 
expression. While we were talking, Mr. Bonner drove up. We 
all three went to the box, and Hiram stripped the chestnut. " He 
is," said he, "the best balanced big horse in America !" After- 
wards, we all three stood in the autumn sun, by the garden-gate, 
and a conversation ensued. Hiram said, " I rode faster behind 
him this morning than ever I rode in my life." 

Mr. Bonner was silent ; and, it being our custom to stand up for 
the absent, we determined to put in a word or two for the gal- 
lant gray. So we said, " Now, look here, Hiram : you rode at the 
rate of two minutes to the mile behind Peerless for a quarter. 
Capt. Moore will swear to it. Do you mean to say that you 
rode faster behind the Auburn Horse than behind the gray 
mare?" 



OF THE AUTHOR. xxxiii 

" Faster than behind the gray mare ? Faster than I ever rode 
behind an?j horse ! " said he, with his resolute eye and grave 
smile. 

Mr. Bonner was silent as Hiram said this with his hand up- 
raised ; but we determined to have another word, so we at it ao-ain 
argumentatively. Hiram looked over toward the sea, where the 
sun was shining in the southern board ; and he said, " If the 
weather holds good a few days longer, and there is a fair day and 
track next week, something will be done ! " 
" What do you think it will be ? " 

He smiled and said, " Mr. Bonner wants to know what I think, 
no doubt ; and I don't mind telling you what I expect, because 
you never blow things. 

« Yes, yes : now^^^^iy^^. 

• " To wipe out yJJ^SPRas ev erbeen doner^n£&is island." 

" You mean ylxhat has^erraen fene in harm^s ? " 

"All that hpfe ever be|^fl ^o^e latj all) 3 Listen, now: I am not 

given to exaggeration, and I want to keep within limits. I am 

confident that r\«^^§^tfe^ors^he^rsJ^ff-mile in lm. 8s. 

If I can't bring him^aQ e^e^ffl^^^^g ^TlOs. I ought to be 

horsewhipped. That will be 2m. 18s." 

It happened that the weather got cold and bleak immediately 
after that delicious afternoon, and the course was not in order 
again; so the great trial never came off. Knowing the care, 
knowledge, and vast experience which Hiram brought to the 
making up of his opinions, and having witnessed the gravity and 
earnestness with which he advanced this as his settled conviction, 
we fully believe, that, under favorable circumstances, the chestnut 
could have done what he said. Therefore, we say that the Au- 
burn Horse filled his eye at the last moment when there was great 
ambition and speculation in it ; and was the last, as well a3 the 
greatest, in point of speed, of those world-renowned trotters 
which were stabled in Hiram Woodruff's vast brain and mighty 
heart. 

During the winter, Hiram's health had not been good. He had 
several attacks of illness ; and when he got a little better, he 
would get up and go about as though he had not been sick. This 
made strong calls upon his constitutional stamina, which had once 
been as good and perfect as his honesty and pluck. At his birth- 
day, on the 2 2d of February, he was well, and singularly happy 



xxxiv BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

and genial. He dined with his friends ; consented to the wish of 
Mr. Parkes, of Brooklyn, to sit for his portrait, to be presented to 
his wife ; and, finally, had the pony (the fifty-miler), brought into 
the parlor, among his friends, in order that he might expatiate 
upon his rare merits. Six days after that we saw Hiram for the 
last time, a fortnight before his death; and never, since our friend- 
ship began, did we see him more cheerful, bright, and genial than 
he was upon that day. It was a spring day, light and mild : wc 
found Iliram in the yard, and he hailed us with a cheery halloa, 
" I'm glad you've come : I'm getting ready for the next campaign ! 
First of all, come and look at Quicksilver and Rosamond." 

We answered that we were impatient to look at Pocahontas and 
Strideaway. He said, " Time enough." We looked at the 
horses. We looked at his hogs. We surveyed the renowned 
mare and her son. He never was more happy, never more plea- 
sant and wise. We said how we rejoiced to find him looking and 
feeling so well. He put his hand upon our shoulder; and, with the 
smile we all knew and loved so well, he said, " I am not as well 
as I look, but I am better than I was most of the winter." 

We then went and looked over his wagons and sulkies, which 

had all been painted and put in order for the season he was never 

■<:. We talked about his book, and the plan of its conclusion 

was settled. " You must come here often," said lie : " I want to 

see you very often." 

"We replied, that, when the roads got good, we would often drive 

r : but he replied that there was no need to wait for the roads. 

lie had a plan to meet that difficulty : it was, that he would get a 

saddle and bridle, and we must ride over on horseback. " You 

can jump up and slip over here anytime on horseback; and I'll 

about the saddle and bridle to-morrow." 

It is in some sort a consolation, that, at our last parting from this 
valued friend, he felt so happy, and was so kindly disposed to us. 
On the Sunday week following, he was taken sick with bilious 
vomiting in the middle of the night. Andrew Howe, his relative 
and confidential steward, was lying in the boose sick, and died the 
next day. Hirarn got worse; and a despatch was sent for his. 
friend Mr. Marshall, who arrived on Thursday morning at day- 
light. Sim Hoagland had been constant in his attentions to his 
friend. Mrs. Woodruff was, of course, in sore distress, but still 
hopeful. The doctor, as Mr. Marshall entered, declared that a 



OF TUE AUTHOR. XXXV 

change had taken place, and that he had great hopes. But this 
was fallacious. Even then the 

"Single warrior, in sombre harness mailed, 
Dreaded of man, and surnamed the Destroyer, 
The rampart wall had sealed." 

Hiram was anxious to talk then, but Mr. Marshall wanted him 
to keep quiet; so he left him with Mrs. Woodruff, who had made 
him some beef-tea. Towards night he grew weaker and weaker. 
Through the long, sad watches of that mournful night he failed 
gradually, but retained his consciousness. Fondly pressing the 
hand of his dear wife, and with many a look of affection east upon 
the brother of his heart, Marshall, and Hiram Howe, he gradually 
sank away, and died without a groan or pang, as a baby falls 
to sleep. It was ten minutes to four o'clock in the morning when 
he died; and the last clearly articulate word that he spoke 

u Horse 1 M 

The news of his death caused an. extraordinary sensation. 
Thousands who had never seen him — business men, professional 
men, and idlers — spoke of it as the event oi the time, and always 
with kindness and regret. It was the same all over the country, 
for there was not a man in America, except perhaps General Grant, 
esteemed by a greater number of people than Hiram Woodruff. 

The funeral was held on Sunday, in the afternoon. The weather 
was terrible for the season; and the roads so bad, that it was only 
by work like that with which pioneers precede an army, that the 
house oi' mourning was reached by many from a distance. The 
snow lay thick and deep, and fell all day. The wind howled from 
the east. White-bearded Winter had come back to shiver over 
the grave of this great, honest man. Nevertheless, there was a 
great concourse oi' people at the funeral. Full of attachment and 
regret, they had come from all parts to pay the last tribute of lovo 
and respect U) their friend. The place was crowded in every part. 
About a hundred and fifty carriages and large sleighs were under 
the sheds all about. Some of them had been drawn by four horses ; 
and this was a wise forethought on the part of their owners. 
Hiram lay in the parlor, in a handsome coffin oi' vo>c\\ood with 
silver-plated furniture. We say HlRAM, because, as he lay there, 
he looked so natural and composed, that he seemed no cold corpse, 
but a composition that still had life in it, and might awake and 



xxxvi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. 

speak at any instant. The scene was very affecting. The coun- 
try people, who knew and loved Hiram well, had come from their 
farms and villages. When these stout yeoman looked upon his 
calm, quiet face, with its sweet smile, they broke down at once; 
and " eyes albeit unused to the melting mood " swam over with 
tears. Some few, including Dan Pfifer, could not trust themselves 
to meet him face to face. All the trainers and drivers were there, 
with most of the eminent owners of fast horses. The ladies were 
there in great numbers ; and this was truly fitting, for Hiram was 
always distinguished for his ceremonious politeness to them. He 
was, in fact, when seen at his best, in person, in dress, in manners, 
and in mind, a thorough gentleman. The service was performed 
by the Rev. Mr. Munn, of East New York, in an impressive man- 
ner. And then the procession, with its mourners, and Oliver 
Marshall, Simeon D. Hoagland, William Whelan, Joseph Croch- 
eron, John Crooks, John I. Snedeker, and Wellington Simonson 
as pall-bearers, streamed along through the snow, to the cemetery- 
gate, and wound its way up the hillside, and past the lofty monu- 
ment, to the grave. It was a long time ere the most had reached 
the place ; and many, indeed, never got there at all until after the 
clods from the spade fell on the coffin, and smote upon our ears 
all mortal fate. Hiram Woodruff lies near the summit of a lofty 
hill, which overlooks the south side of the Island and the great 
waters upon which he loved to sail. The beauties and the 
grandeur of nature are all about his last resting-place. When 
it is bleak and stormy, as it was that day, the sough of the wind 
seems to bear with it the deep roar of the majestic ocean. When 
it is fine, there is no lovelier spot on all the Island ; and, standing 
near his place of rest, one can look out far and away over a world 
of life and fertile land and busy waters. Peace to him who sleeps 
on that hallowed summit ! 



THE TK01TING -HORSE OF AMERICA. 



I. 



Reason for writing the B x>k. — Necessity for Practical Experience in Train- 
ing. — The Author's Experience. — Improvement in Tracks and Vehicles. 
— Causes of Improvement in Time. — Originality of the American 
System. — Its great Superiority to the English System. — Rules as to 
Breaking from the Trot. 

I HAVE often had applications from gentlemen in vari- 
ous parts of the country for advice and instruction in 
regard to the treatment of their horses, to which I have 
been unable to make satisfactory replies. My time has been 
too much taken up in training and driving the large number 
of horses placed in my care to admit of my writing letters, 
though I have always been willing to give such information 
as I could to those who sought it of me. In the course of 
the work I have now undertaken, the gentlemen who have 
applied to me, and those who might wish to do so, but yet, 
knowing my constant occupation, have refrained, will find 
all that it is in my power to communicate in regard to the 
management of trotting-horses. The persuasions and assur- 
ances of some of my friends have induced me to believe that 
the results of my thoughts and experiences, plainly set down, 
and illustrated here and there by such anecdotes and recol- 
lections of our famous trotters as, being in point, may most 
readily present themselves to my mind, will be interest- 
ing to the readers of this my work, and useful to the 

37 



38 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

vast number of persons who now keep good road-horses, 
if not fast trotters. It was not without some hesitation that 
I agreed to devote a whole winter to the work I have 
begun. I found, upon reflection, that it would not be very 
easy for me to convey in print my own ideas upon the sub- 
ject of training and driving; and my own experience with 
some hundreds of trotting-horses has convinced me, that any 
hope of teaching a man how to put a horse in condition by 
rule would be entirely fallacious. 

I say, then, at the outset, that this work is to be taken 
more as a guide and finger-post, showing the way to. practical 
experience, than as a substitute for experience itself. Such 
general method as I have pursued with good results, I shall 
communicate ; but I cannot undertake to relate the circum- 
stances constantly arising among horses in training, which 
have called, and always will call, for varied applications and 
abatements of the rule. Of these, the man in charge of the 
horse must be the judge as they present themselves ; and, if 
he is not able to determine how far the general method may 
be intensified or relaxed in the case in hand, it is safe to say, 
that it will be more a lucky accident than any thing else if 
the trotter is fit when he comes to the post. I say, without 
any qualification, that a man can no more train horses by 
means of rules ascertained beforehand by other people than 
one can cure the complaints the human frame is subject to 
by books written by the most learned of the faculty. It 
would be a great deal easier for a clever man to write a good 
book upon a given complaint than to cure a case of it ; and, 
if the writer was taken with the disorder himself, I have no 
doubt he would pitch his book on one side, and send for a 
practising physician. The fact that the man who is his own 
attorney has a fool for a client has passed into a proverb ; 
and this is another instance of worthlessness of book-learn- 
ing, taken by itself. 

Yet books are very necessary for the making of doctors 
and instruction of lawyers ; and so, when I say that the work 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 30 

I am going to produce is only calculated to be useful when 
used as a stepping-stone to experience, I do not really under- 
value it, as some may think. Besides, I intend to make it 
interesting to the general reader, as well as to him who is 
in quest of the rules and maxims of the trainer's art. I 
also wish it to he understood at the outset, that very many 
clever horsemen will differ with me in regard to some of the 
things I shall lay down as proper to be pursued. I know it 
will be very often said by some of my associates of years 
gone by, as they read these pages, " ' Old Blocks ' is wrong 
in regard to so-and-so ; " but I can assure the reader that I 
shall recommend nothing but what I have tried, and in a 
measure proved myself. 

It is more than thirty years since I began to handle trot- 
ting-horses, and more than five-and-twenty since I had 
charge of Dutchman, the best, take him for all in all, of the 
old-time trotters. Some things are done differently now from 
what they were then; yet there has not been any great 
change in the method we then pursued, nor has there been, 
in my opinion, as much change and improvement in our 
horses as some imagine. It is true that there are more fast 
trotters now than there ever were before, that the best time 
has been much cut down of late years, and that the driving 
on the road is a deal more rapid now than it was then. But 
then it is to be remembered that the tracks are now much 
better ordered than they were in former times, that the 
vehicles for trotting have been much lightened and improved, 
and that a corresponding improvement in roads and road- 
wagons has taken place. Besides, there are hundreds of 
horses trained nowadays to one that was handled by a really 
competent man then ; and thus a greater amount of speed 
is developed in the multitude. And though it is not alto- 
gether clear why it should be so, there is no doubt in my 
mind about this, viz., that, as the excellence of the multitude 
increases, the excellence of the best among them will reacL 
a higher standard. Except in exceptional cases, it is easier 



40 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

to be the best among a few than the best among many ; for 
the reason that among the many the mark necessary to be 
attained will generally be higher and more difficult. The 
improvement in the time of our trotters is, then, to be laid 
to the account of several causes ; which include improvement 
in courses, vehicles, methods of training, style of driving, 
and in the trotting-horse himself. 

The system of teaching, training, driving, and riding the 
trotting-horse of this country has long been an art of itself, 
quite different, as far as I have heard, from that pursued in 
other countries. I look upon the English as a nation of 
horsemen, and their success with hunters and racers has 
been very great : but, ever since I can remember, we have 
been as much superior to them in handling the fast trotter 
as we are now. When Hattler was taken over there, twen- 
ty-five years ago, the gentleman who had the horse took 
good care to take William Whelan along to steer him ; and, 
when the party got above themselves, and challenged the 
world, it was not resolved to buy Dutchman, and carry him 
across the water to clip their combs, until, after much press- 
ing, I had agreed to go, too, to drive him. A difference of 
only three hundred dollars in the price of Dutchman pre- 
vented our voyage to England. The gentleman — he was 
English, but had lived some years in this country — offered 
twenty-seven hundred dollars, and a black mare I then had 
in charge, for the horse. The Philadelphia party wanted 
three thousand dollars and the black mare ; and so the deal 
fell through. If it had been consummated, the challengers 
in England, with Whelan and Battler, would soon have 
found Woodruff and the Dutchman in the little island, come 
to take it up. So there we should have been, — a real 
American party, — disputing across the Atlantic, in the 
land of our ancestors, for pre-eminence in the sport our own 
country had already exalted and dignified at home. The 
handling of the English trotting-horses at that time was as 
much inferior to the American system as their horses were 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 41 

to ours ; and, though I say it myself, who belong to the pro- 
fession, it is not unfit to be said, that the American system 
of breaking, training, and driving, has mainly made our 
trotters what they are. The English had the stock all along, 
just as much as we had ; and it is our method of cultivation 
and perseverance that has made the difference between their 
fast trotter of a mile in three minutes and ours of two 
minutes and twenty-five seconds, or thereabouts. 

According to the best information at my command now, 
I find that a tnree-minute trotter in England is about as 
scarce an article as a two-thirty horse is here. This is the 
result of our method of breeding, training, and driving the 
trotting-horse in this country, aided by the enterprise and 
ingenuity which provide vehicles, harness, and all the para- 
phernalia of that combination of lightness with strength 
which is upon the plan of the best trotting-horse himself. 
It is, however, only fair to observe, that the English have 
had some rules in their match-trotting which probably acted 
as a hinderance to the making of the best time of which their 
horses were capable. The penalty of a break was such that 
the rider or driver would be afraid to push his horse up to 
the top of his speed. If it was a harness or wagon race, the 
driver was compelled to pull up, and back the wheels when 
his horse broke. Ever so little backing of the wheels would 
do ; but he was compelled to back them some. If it was 
under saddle, the rider had to turn his horse round when 
he broke. These rules must have been detrimental to tha 
making of fast time, though as fair for one as another of tho 
parties engaged in the match. Our American rule on this 
subject favors speed; and some think, indeed, that, as often 
administered, it favors breaking and running, to the disad- 
vantage of the steady, honest horse that keeps to his gait, 
and wins, if he wins at all, by trotting. 

Our law on this point is good enough, however, provided 
it is lawfully administered; and it does not operate as a 
check to the driver in obtaining the best speed of which his 



42 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

horse is capable. I do not myself admire those horsea 
which are more relied upon to win for aptness in breaking 
and running a little when in a tight place, than for down- 
right speed and bottom at a fair trot; but, as I have said to 
gentlemen who have complained that such was the case, 
the remedy is sufficient, if the judges will fearlessly apply 
it. If the judges did this, we should soon hear no more 
about drivers "learning horses to break." I think that the 
pride of our art in training and driving is to teach them to 
maintain their trot, and not to break. If the horse may 
break and run, I can easily see how it may be beneficial to 
teach him to break ; but if, when he breaks, he is to be im- 
mediately pulled to a trot, or pulled up, I think it will be 
better to teach him not to break. 

My remarks in this chapter are merely prefatory, as will 
be seen. Indeed, we must jog along gently with this matter 
until we have got through certain preliminary work, and put 
the fast trotter into regular training. I purpose, then, to 
take a firm hold of the reins, and increase the speed until 
the parties interested in the performance think that we are 
going along fast enough, and can stay the distance, even 
though it be three-mile heats. It must, however, never be 
lost sight of by the reader, in the course of this work, that 
I am a practical man, one mainly governed by the teach- 
ings of experience, and therefore not inclined to the laying- 
down of mere theories in regard to the training and general 
treatment of horses. If I had had less to do with them for 
nearly forty years, I might be more positive in my asser- 
tions than I now intend to be. Between the outward forms 
of such trotters as Dutchman, and Peerless, or Flora Tem- 
ple, there is a vast difference; and between these types, 
more or less nearly approaching the one or the other, the 
variety of form is immense. I have been led to believe 
that the constitutional differences, including temper, dispo- 
sition, and that intangible but very potent quality called 
pluck, are as numerous as the varieties of form. Now, in 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 43 

the management and training of the horse, the general 
rules which are applicable in nearly all cases must be re- 
laxed, or stringently followed, according to the constitu- 
tion, disposition, and capacity of the individual horse in 
hand. It would be easy enough for me to say, " Give the 
horse in training plenty of work, but not too much." The 
advice would be good, though general. The trouble would 
be in finding out how much was plenty and not too much. 
Here the judgment and experience of the man in charge 
would have to be carefully exercised; and if, by perusing 
this work as it progresses, the reader can master some of 
my experience, and make it his own, I shall be satisfied. 



n. 



Handling of the Colt, — The Trot a Natural Gait. — Great Speed the Result 
of Long Handling. — Method for the Colt. — Moderation best in Feeding. — 
Early Maturity followed by Early Decay. — Tbe Trotter should live 
Many Years. — Feeding of Weanlings. — No Physic unless the Colt is 
Sick. — Feeding of the Yearling. — The Starving System worse than 
High Feeding. 

THE training of the trotting-horse is really to be com- 
menced from the time he is handled when a colt ; for it 
is not simply the putting of him in such bodily condition as 
may enable him to exert all his powers, but also the careful 
and continued cultivation of his gifts as a trotter. What- 
ever encourages his tendency to make the trot his best way 
of going, is a part of his training; and therefore the natural 
disposition to trot must be improved from the very first. I 
have heard it said by some that there is no natural disposi- 
tion in a horse to trot, or rather was none until men had 
handled him, and induced him to use that mode of action. It 
is a very common notion that the horse has but two natural 
paces, — the walk and the gallop, — and that trotting is wholly 
artificial. I have seen this set down in some books, but I 
venture to deny it. My conviction is, that the trot is natu- 
ral to the horse ; and I feel bound to give some reasons for 
my belief. In the first place, then, I ask whether a colt 
can now be found any where that does not trot sometimes, 
and that when he is by the side of his dam, before ever the 
hand of a man has been laid upon him ? If it is said that 
this results from the long domestication of his ancestors, 
my reply will be, that it happens among the produce of 
horses whose ancestors for more than a century — ay, for 
44' 



TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA 45 

more than two — have never been used for trotting pur- 
poses, and never were taught to trot at all, if it is true that 
the Arabs of the Desert only use their horses at the two so- 
called natural paces, — the walk and the gallop. Besides, 
although I have never been in foreign parts myself, I have 
been informed by gentlemen of observation and credit, 
whose means of noticing this point have been wider if not 
greater than my own, that wild horses trot when moving 
about at ease, or at play, or coming towards an object. It 
is true, that, if they are at all alarmed, they immediately 
strike into a gallop; but this only shows that the gallop is 
the best natural pace for speed, and not that the trot is no 
natural pace. I am also informed that other wild animals 
of desert places, such as wild asses, zebras, quaggas, and 
the like, sometimes trot ; and, if I had not been told so, I 
should have inferred it from the fact that almost every ani- 
mal that goes on four legs, whether domesticated among us 
or wild in our country, trots at times. Deer trot in the 
woods : I have seen them do it. The largest and noblest 
of our native animals is the elk, and he is a trotter. 

If any of my readers, when riding in the Central Park, 
will take occasion to observe the elk that was sent to Mr. 
Wilkes from St. Louis for that institution, I will bet a trine 
that they will see her trot, and go a pretty good trot, too, 
if she is put up to her best pace. Away, then, with the 
notion that the trot is wholly an artificial gait. If it were, 
I think the attempt to breed trotters would have been a 
failure ; whereas, everybody knows that it has been success- 
ful. There is, however, a mixture of truth in the assertion 
that the trot is an artificial gait. It is not the readiest way 
for the horse to go at speed. A very poor running-horse — 
I mean a turf-horse — could distance the best trotter that 
ever was started ; and the best trotters never reach their 
best speed until they have undergone a good deal of hand- 
ling and cultivation. This handling, from the very first 
day that the colt begins to eat, should be very different, in 



46 THE TROTTING HORSE OP AMERICA. 

my judgment, from the method I have seen the best breed- 
ers and trainers of thoroughbred runners adopt with their 
stock. 

Now, to begin with the colt. Just as soon as the mare 
is quiet while you are doing so, you may handle the colt. 
Do it in such a manner as to make him tractable and kind. 
Speak softly to him, encourage him to come up and smell 
of your hand ; and, when you touch him, do so gently and 
soothingly. From* the first week of the horse's life until 
the last, you will find that he will be inclined to do what 
you require of him, provided you can make him understand 
what it is. Some men that have hold of horses apparently 
don't know themselves, and therefore it is not to be won- 
dered at that the horse don't. Just as soon as you get 
familiar with the colt, which will be very soon if you com- 
mence while he is very young, rub his head occasionally, pat 
him, and sometimes pick up one of his legs. Do it gently ; 
and by so doing you will teach him to let it be done quietly 
when the time comes at which it must be done somehow. 
It is understood, of course, that 'the mare and colt have 
shelter at night, and run out during the day, — on fine days, 
at any rate. Now, if the young one is never touched until 
you want to take hold of him for some needful purpose, you 
will find that he has become wild, and will try to break 
things before you can manage him. 

The breeders of race-horses understand this very well, 
and they commonly take great pains with their colts. But 
as to early feeding, their method is one which I advise the 
breeders of trotters not to follow. It is, that as soon as the 
colt will eat bruised oats, which will be at less than two 
months old, he is to have all that he can consume. Nay, I 
find that one gentleman, and one of a great deal of ability, 
too, in that line, advises to begin with giving him oatmeal 
in gruel before he can eat the bruised oats. This is to be 
followed up with four quarts or more of oats a day, when he 
is weaned, besides the pasturage. I say to the reader of 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 47 

this, do no such thing with the colt that is to be a trotter, — » 
or, rather, do it with great moderation. Never mind oat- 
meal gruel ; never mind bruised oats while he is with his 
dam. The milk of the mare, she being kept in good heart, 
and the grass, will afford her colt all the nourishment he 
needs, and ought to have. This is Nature's plan : the other 
is the "forcing system," and ever so much more artificial 
than the trotting-gait. I do not undertake to disparage the 
method pursued by the race-horse men, so far as it only 
concerns their own purposes. That purpose I take to be 
early maturity ; and I am convinced that very early maturity 
will not be advisable in the case of the fast trotter. Early 
maturity means early decay, in nineteen cases out of every 
twenty. 

Now, in order that a horse may become a first-rate trot- 
ter, it is necessary that he should last a good while. He 
won't jump up to his greatest excellence at three years old, 
or at six either, if his excellence is going to be very 
great; but will probably be improving most when the 
thoroughbred horse of the same year has been long gone 
from the turf. I don't know of a single thing in nature 
that comes to maturity early and lasts long. This system, 
then, is not calculated for the trotter ; because to be great 
it is absolutely necessary that he should last long. The 
case is different as regards the running-horse ; for his career 
may be brief, and yet very brilliant. It is to be considered, 
too, that the constitution of the colts is different. The 
thoroughbred horse is naturally inclined to mature at an 
earlier period than any other, I think ; and it is certain, 
that, being of a leaner and more wiry build, he- may stand 
high feeding at an earlier period than the half-bred trotter. 

And besides all this, I have other reasons against giving 
young colts much grain. The physiologists all agree, that, 
in order to thrive, the horse, young or old, must not only 
have his stomach supplied with a sufficient quantity of 
nutritious food, but also with enough matter not so highly 



48 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

nutritious to distend it. A horse or a colt fed only on the 
substances which go to make up his substance would starve, 
though you gave them to him in the greatest abundance. 
Why this is they do not know, and I am sure I don't ; but 
it seems to me that it is a reason for not cloying the \oung 
an imal with all the highly-nutritious food he will eat. If 
his appetite is satisfied with oats, he will not be likely to 
eat the grass and hay that nature requires. There is 
another thing on this point which has occurred to me, but I 
only throw it out as a suggestion. While the animal is 
young, a good distension of the stomach is calculated to 
produce that roundness of rib which we see in so many of 
our best horses. Now, this capacity of the carcass, if it 
proceeds in part from proper distension of the stomach, — and 
by that I do not mean the paunch, — is not going to be 
obtained by the feeding of food in the concentrated shape. 
Bulk is required ; and the pulp and essence need not be 
given in large quantity until the organization is formed, 
and extraordinary exertion is required of the horse. 

When the colt is weaned, I should give him from three 
pints to two quarts of grain a day. The quantity may be 
varied according to his size ; for, if he gives indications of 
a large frame and loose habit, he will require more than a 
compact colt, who keeps in good order, and fills out with 
substance as he grows up. The pasturage is still the main 
thing; and, if that is good, two quarts of grain will be 
much better than more of the latter, and little or nothing 
to be picked up on the bare herbage. With proper care 
and attention, a good bite of grass may be secured for the 
colts until very late in the fall ; and they should have all 
the hay they will eat when it begins to fail. The grain 
should be oats of good quality. I do not like to let colts 
have corn at all when young ; and even to old horses I 
think it should be fed very sparingly. In the winter of the 
first year, the colt must have a good place to run in, and be 
well housed at night, and regularly fed and watered. It 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 49 

must be understood, from what I have said above, that he 
is never to be turned out to take his chance among a lot of 
promiscuous stock, old horses, cows, calves, heifers, and 
what-not. If he is, you may look for a wretched young 
thing, standing shivering on the hillside, and hardly able to 
put one leg before the other, instead of the gay and frisky 
colt that you had when he nibbled the growing grass by the 
side of his dam. All along, from the time of his weaning, 
it will do good, and can do no harm, to give him a nice, 
warm mash, with a few oats mixed through it, now and them 
It does the whole system of the alimentary canal good, im- 
proves the digestion, and increases the nutrition. There 
need be no fear of its scouring the colt ; and, in cases of 
scouring, I have very often found that it cured it. Give 
the colt no physic unless you are sure that there is something 
the matter with him. Physic is to cure sickness. Its pre- 
vention belongs to diet, careful observation, and general 
treatment. 

When the colt is a yearling, his allowance of oats may be 
increased to four quarts a day. His other food must be 
good and abundant ; and that is to be the main-stay. My 
principle is to give oats sparingly until the time comes to 
put the horse to some work ; and I think it will commonly 
result in this : that the horse will have all the size that in 
the order of nature he should have had, and be of a much 
hardier, healthier, and more enduring constitution than he 
would have been if he had been forced along rapidly by 
means of all the highly-stimulating food that he could be 
got to consume. It will take longer to mature him by feed- 
ing only moderately of grain at this early period, but he is 
meant to last longer; and I repeat that early maturity is 
not favorable to long endurance. By the other method, 
you may show me a colt at two years old that looks more 
like a horse than mine will at three ; and at three more like 
a grand horse than mine will at five. But now I shall 
begin to overtake you. When yours is five or six, he is at 

4 



50 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

his very best, perhaps past his best. Put them together at 
eight, and I have got by far the best and most useful horse. 
At ten, you have probably got no horse at all worth men- 
tioning : while mine is now " all horse," and in his true 

prime. 

If anybody thinks to follow the old starving, corn-stalk 
fodder, fed-in-the-snow system, under cover of what I have 
said on this subject, he must go to the devil his own road. 
My system is one of generous feeding, but not of stuffing a 
young colt with all the highly-stimulating food he can pos- 
sibly be got to swallow. Above all, avoid Indian corn in all 
shapes for young colts, and take care that they have plenty of 
pure water. If there is not a running-stream in the pasture 
where they are kept, be sure that they are watered at least 
three times a day, and that they have all they want. 

We shall next come to the regular breaking, harnessing, 
and driving of the young colt in his two-year-old stage, 
which is of very great importance to his after character. 



III. 



Feeding of the Two- Year-Old.— Mouthing and Bitting. — Lounging. — Tem- 
per. — Leading on the Eoad. — Much Walking to be avoided. — When 
harnessed, a Wagon better than a Sulky. — Amount of Work to depend 
on Constitution and Condition. — Eemedy for Broken Gait. — Pulling to 
be avoided. — Increase of Feed. ^ 

IN the two-year-old, in spring, the grain is to be increased 
to five, or even six quarts, of good oats a day ; and now 
the colt is to be mouthed and bitted. He should have a 
good loose box, with an outside lot attached. It is unne- 
cessary to describe the processes of mouthing, bitting, and 
lounging. The latter must not be continued long at a time. 
Half an hour will be enough ; but, if he takes it well and 
steps off gayly, you may keep him moving a little longer. 
He must be lounged round both ways, changing the direc- 
tion from time to time ; for so giddiness will be prevented, 
and the bit brought alternately to both sides of the mouth. 
Great care must be taken not to overdo the thing at this 
time ; for, when the colt gets fatigued and worried, his tem- 
per begins to suffer as well as his condition. It would be 
easy to repair the latter, but the mischief done to the 
former in early life can seldom be repaired. I am convinced 
that nine out of ten of the horses we find mischievously dis- 
posed, or even positively vicious and treacherous, are so by 
reason of having been improperly handled when young. 
There was Dutchman — he was not a sulky horse nor vi- 
cious by nature. You could get him to do his best when- 
ever you called for it on the course or the road, but in 
the stable, look out ! He wanted a great deal of watching. 
If a man attempted to put his harness on or take it off, 

51 



52 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

without tying hini up, he was lucky to get away with the 
loss of most of his clothes. Dutchman would take hold like 
a bull-terrier, and shake till his hold came away. He was 
also a kicker. In ordinary cases, I would not give much 
for a horse of this temper for the performance of any thing 
very great upon the course ; but like Flying Childers and 
English Eclipse, both of whom, I am told, were ill-tem- 
pered, and ill-formed in some points, Dutchman was "a 
horse above ordinances." 

In handling the two-year-old trotter, then, the utmost 
care, as well as gentleness and firmness, should be exer- 
cised. In former times, it was not customary to handle 
colts until they were five years old ; but experience has since 
shown that they can very well be broken at two years old, 
and can be got to trot at three. The matter depends not 
upon the doing, but upon the manner of its doing. If the 
breaker or owner finds that the young thing can trot a lit- 
tle, and is always hankering to see him " do it again, 5 ' or 
do a little better, he will soon have one that can't and won't 
do any thing worth his or anybod}^ else's seeing. Progress, 
to be good and safe, must be gradual, but it should be con- 
tinual. There is no sense at all in working a colt along so 
that he can trot well at three or four years old, and then 
turning him out until he is five or six. He should be kept 
at it gently, so as to hold fast all he knows at least ; and 
this he is sure to do if not forced off his legs. 

When the colt has been mouthed, bitted, and lounged in 
the lot, he will be led out upon the roads, and thus accus- 
tomed to meet and pass vehicles, horsemen, cattle, and the 
like. He is then to be broken to the saddle ; during which 
process he should be ridden about the country roads, and 
not kept out so long at a time as to become leg-weary. The 
weight upon his back must be remembered ; and the rider 
should often ease him by dismounting, and leading him. A 
great deal less walking is now given to horses of all ages 
than was formerly the case. When I was a boy, and riding 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 53 

for my uncle, an immense deal of walking exercise was 
thought to be beneficial. I used to ride horses as much as 
twenty miles a day, at a walk ; and it was deemed needful 
to do this all along during their preparation. I have long 
seen* the fallacy of that, and discontinued it. The old no- 
tion was, that it improved the horse's bottom ; but I am sat- 
isfied that the usual effect was to make him leg-weary, to 
dog the heart out of him with this monotonous, tread-mill 
sort of work, and so take away his speed. He might go a 
distance then, in the race, because he went comparatively 
slow. It must always be remembered that a slow horse 
can keep at his best pace longer than a fast horse can at 
his, though in condition, bottom, and game they be equal. 
In training horses now, I usually walk them but once a 
day, and then only for a comparatively short distance. 

When the colt is broken to the saddle, his work in har- 
ness is to be commenced. It should be to a skeleton wag- 
on, not to a sulky ; for the reason that, with the four wheels 
to the former vehicle, the weight will be kept off his back. 
Many use the sulky, but I am satisfied that the wagon is 
best. There will be no difficulty in getting the colt to 
draw if he has been handled rightly up to this time. Our 
system in this is radically different from that of the Eng- 
lish, as I am informed. Instead of putting the colt into 
the shafts of a single vehicle, and coaxing him to go off 
nicely with it, by which means, when he starts, he feels 
that he is doing something, and soon becomes satisfied and 
likes it, the English begin his harness-work by putting him 
into a double-break wagon, which weighs about half a ton, 
by the side of an old horse. When the colt is at home be- 
tween the shafts, begin to drive him moderately. Take 
him sometimes on the track, and at other times on the road. 
Don't keep him dogging along at the same rate, but give 
him lively spurts now and then. By this means he will 
extend himself without hurting himself, and will improve 
in speed. As long as he does this, you are doing right, and 



54 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

he is doing well. As soon as he seems to get tired of it, 
and appears to be either restive or sluggish, let him up a 
little. You must watch for these symptoms carefully ; for 
this is a critical time. If you overdo him much now, it 
will be a long while before he is himself again. 

The work must be according to his constitution, to the 
rate of his growth, and to his heartiness of feeding. This 
jogging will probably be about five or six miles a day, and 
the spurts not above a quarter of a mile. He must be care- 
fully watched to ascertain whether he improves or not. If 
not, he is to be let up a bit ; for his improvement at this 
age ought to go on all the time, and will if he is all right. 
Rapid improvement, however, must not be expected : ever 
so little will do, but it ought not to stop altogether. At 
this time, you will often see him break his gait ; and this is 
an indication that he has had too much work for his age, 
and has got sore on it. But it may not arise altogether 
from overwork ; therefore, put the rollers on, and work him 
gently, changing them from leg to leg as required. The 
colt now finds something on his legs, besides the boots, which 
was not there before ; and it will alter his way of going. He 
must be nicely handled now. You must use all your obser- 
vations and best judgment, with a light but firm hold of 
the reins. In all probability, he will trot square again with 
the rollers on ; and, as soon as he does so, let him up for a 
little while. When the broken gait shows, he must not on 
any account be kept on without a change ; for, if he is, it 
may become confirmed. On the other hand, I never like to 
let them up until I have got them to trot square again ; for, 
if they are so let up, they may not trot square again when 
their work is resumed. In all his work, the colt is to be 
taught to go along without being pulled hard. His mouth 
may be easily spoiled for life by teaching him to tug at the 
bit now y and he is not at all likely to make a fast trotter, 
if to trot he must always have his weight upon the driver's 
arms. There have been some fast trotters and stayers that 



THE TEOTTING-HOESE OF AMERICA. 55 

were hard pullers ; but they would have been better horses '* 
but for that fact. Still, it is to be remembered, that, when 
going fast, the colt or horse will often want to get his head 
down, and feel the bit sensibly. He will not, in nine cases 
out of ten (or cannot, which comes to the same thing), do 
his best without it. The object of the driver should then 
be to support him with as little pull as possible, but still to 
support him. The horse with a good mouth will always 
feel the driver's hand ; and, when the latter is as skilful as 
he ought to be for the handling of the first-rate, fast trot- 
ter, he may play upon the rein with a touch like that of a 
harper upon the strings, and the horse will answer every 
touch with the music of the feet and wheels. 

On the other hand, if, when the colt takes hold of the bit, 
the driver does nothing but hold on like grim death to a 
dead darkey, it soon becomes a pulling-match between them ; 
and, before the colt is of age to trot fast and stay a distance, 
his pulling has become a vice of the most troublesome and 
mischievous description, his mouth has become so callous 
that he pulls a wagon and driver along by the reins instead 
of the traces, and, by the dead drag between him and the 
man behind him, he loses a great deal of the power that will 
be wanted to sustain him when the pinch comes. It is not 
to be forgotten, however, that many trotting-horses must be ' - 
pulled considerably to get them to trot fast, and keep trot- 
ting. When this is the case, it is utterly useless to expect 
to get rid of the pull and preserve the trot by means of sub- 
stituting a severe bit for the plain snaffle. It will not do at 
all ; because it is not a certain amount of severity on the 
mouth that the horse wants, but a sort of stay, upon which 
he can fling himself in the flying trot, and without which he 
is either unable or unwilling to put out his best efforts. 

There was a notable instance of this in the trotting-horse 
Alexander, which was taken to England many years ago, 
and could not be got to trot a bit by those who had purchased 
him, expecting great things. Afterwards Bill Whelan went 



56 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

over with Rattler; and the gentlemen who had Alexander 
no sooner saw him ride the former against the Birmingham 
mare than they got him to go and look at Alexander. 
Whelan found the horse in his stable, well taken caie of, 
and in fair condition ; so that, at first, he was at a loss to 
know why he would not trot. However, he told them to 
throw a saddle on him, and let him take a little jog with 
liim. Forthwith, the groom came out of the harness-room 
with a hridle and bridoon-bit; whereupon says Whelan, 
" What are you going to do with that ? " 

"Put it on Alexander." 

" No, you don't ! " says Whelan, and went into the room 
to look out a bridle and bit for himself There was, he says, 
a tremendous array of all sorts of bits, and instruments of 
torture, that had been got together "to hold Alexander." 
He managed, however, to find a plain snafne, and put that 
on him. Everybody there looked at him as if he was a luna- 
tic ; but Bill jumped into the saddle, and jogged away with 
Alexander. He coaxed him, and clucked to him ; and by 
and by Alexander, as he lengthened his stride and quick- 
ened his action, began to pull upon the plain snaffle. But 
Whelan was something of a puller himself; and, instead of 
his pull being the main haul of strength and stupidity, the 
hand of a master was upon the bridle. He warmed Alex- 
ander up in a good stretch, and then brought him back by 
the starting-place at such a rate as amazed the Englishmen 
present. 

" That's the way we ride our trotters in America," said 
Whelan. " Alexander is as good as ever he was. You may 
match him against any thing in this country but Rattler ; 
and I'll engage he won't lose it, if I ride him." 

A match was soon made ; and the American horse Alex- 
ander, ridden by Whelan, won it with ridiculous ease. I 
have mentioned this for the purpose of impressing upon the 
reader the immense importance of a light, firm, sensational 
hold upon the reins. Mere dragging is of the utmost mis- 



THE TR0TTING-H0R8E OF AMERICA. 57 

chief. There is a kind of magnetic touch which the horse 
no sooner feels than he seems inspirited and animated with 
new life ; and this is especially the case when he is a little 
tired. The right kind of touch and movement of the reins 
and hit is worth more in an emergency than all the whip- 
cord and whalehone in the world. 

As the training, or rather breaking, of the two-year-old 
goes on, and his growth advances with the season, his feed 
may he increased. He may have six quarts of oats, or even 
eight, if he is large and a good worker, with as much good 
hay as he will eat up clean. This, however, is to he reduced 
when there is occasion to stop his work and exercise ; for 
instance, when he has been let up after having been going 
with a broken gait. He ought to be allowed to nibble a lit- 
tle fresh grass night and morning, and should sometimes 
have two or three carrots sliced up with his feed. Some will 
say, u When he has been let up, there is a fine chance to 
physic him : " but my maxim is, that, if the colt is in good 
bodily health, and the operations of the internal organs are 
going on right, he does not need physic ; and there is no use 
in a violent interference with the course of nature. In the 
morning, before the colt is hitched up to go to work, give a 
slight feed, — say a quart and a pint of oats, — and let him 
drink about two quarts of water. On days that his work is 
not to be done early, his feed in the morning may be in- 
creased ; but its quantity should be regulated by the hour at 
which he will be driven. At night, he is always to have all 
the water he wants. His temper and disposition are to be 
carefully watched, and so are those of the lad who takes care 
of him. The boy ought to have a pride in, and an affection 
for, a colt in his charge ; and, if he has not, he shall not be 
long about a colt of mine. A lad who does not show an 
active liking for the horse he looks after almost always neg- 
lects him ; and, wherever I detect the absence of this feeling 
in one about my stables, I change his occupation, or send 
him away altogether. But, as a general rule, the boys are 



58 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

very fond of their horses, especially of colts that show prom- 
ise ; and, in these cases, it is more likely that they will do 
harm by over-feeding than by neglect. This is to be looked 
after ; for, though the amount of feed be measured out to 
each lad, I have known many that will be always watching 
slants to get an extra quart of oats for their colts, or will 
even carry ears of corn about in their pockets to shell into 
the manger. See that the colt is fed as you wish him to be, 
rather than as the boy who looks after him wants to feed 
him. 



IV. 



Effects of Early Development. — Colts often overworked. — Fast Three- Year 
Olds and Four- Year Olds. — Eisk of hurting Stamina. — Earlier Maturity 
of Running-Horses. — Evils of over-training Colts. 

THE question as to whether the early development of 
trotting-horses will have a tendency to impair their 
endurance in point of time is one of great interest and im- 
portance. Theoretically, some years ago, it was generally 
held that it would do so ; hut there is some reason to helieve 
that this was a mistake. Still, I am satisfied that unless 
the work is given in a limited and judicious manner, there 
will he very great danger of its having a pernicious effect 
on the young colt. At present, we have hardly seen enough 
of the young trotters trained at three and four years old to 
determine, absolutely, whether the practice is altogether 
prudent or otherwise. A great deal depends upon the con- 
stitution and development of the colt himself j and still 
more, perhaps, upon the sagacity and care of the man who 
has him in charge. In many cases which have come under 
my observation, young things have been overworked ; and, 
when it was found that they began to hitch and hobble, 
a good let-up would do more to restore the stroke than 
any thing else. It is quite certain to my mind that there 
is some risk in the training of colts to such a mark as shall 
fit them to trot mile heats at three year's old ; and some 
that have displayed uncommon fast time in public at their 
three and four year old stages, would probably have been 
much better off to-day, if they had never been put through 

59 



60 TEE TBOTTING-EOBSE OF AMERICA. 

the strong preparation necessary to the accomplishment of 
those feats. 

It does not follow, however, that a subsequent failure 
of a horse to carry out his early promise resulted from 
the fact that he was trained at an early age. These colts 
are liable to the vicissitudes which attend other horses ; and, 
therefore, they may go amiss in a manner which in nowise 
depends on their early work. Still, there is a presumption 
where a fast colt gives out at a time of "life when he ought 
to improve, that he had too much work for his stamina at 
three or four years old; and, with one of much promise at 
three, I should decline to match him, unless I was convinced 
that I had a tolerably easy thing. It is not the fast trotting 
that will do the mischief, but the amount of work needful 
to put the youngster in fix for a repeating race. Yet it is 
well known that some colts and fillies who did great things 
in public at three and four years old have since turned out 
good horses. 

It will have been gathered from what I have said hereto- 
fore, that my system contemplates the development of much 
speed without much work. Some may say that this is 
impossible ; but my experience is that it is quite practicable, 
and a great deal more likely to be followed by the result 
desired, than keeping the colt continually hammering at all 
he knows. The system which I have laid down heretofore 
for the management of the two-year-old is still to be fol- 
lowed in its general principles when he is three, with such 
modifications as his increase of age justifies. It will be 
much better to err on the side of a little indulgence, than 
to run the risk of knocking him off his legs and so over- 
board, by too much work. The first race that I remember 
between three-year-old trotters was some thirty-four years 
ago. It took place on the Hunting-Park Course, Philadel- 
phia, and there were three engaged. Peter Whelan had 
Gipsy, George Woodruff had a gray filly that I looked 
after, and there was another one. Gipsy won it in two 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 61 

heats, and the time was somewhere about three minutes 
and seven seconds. We thought it good at that period, 
and so it was. In considering the fast time made by our 
best trotters of late years, we ought not to forget that the 
tracks and all the appliances have been improved, as well 
as the horses. Go upon the Fashion ani Union courses in 
the trotting-season, and you will find them so ordered as to 
be as smooth as a bowling-alley. It is scarcely necessary 
to say that the courses thirty years ago were very different. 

The next very prominent trot between young horses was 
that in which Ethan Allen defeated Rose of Washington 
when they were four years old. It was the first time that 
a young stallion had appeared in public at that age ; but 
Holkam and Roe had great confidence. Ethan was indeed 
a superior colt, and has since turned out a superior horse. 
He had a good one to beat, too, in Rose of Washington ; 
and she has also turned out well. It cannot be said that 
their training and race hurt either of them ; but it must 
not be forgotten that both were in the hands of wary and 
experienced men. Their time (2m. 36s.) was the best then, 
but it has since been very much reduced in Kentucky. 
Lady Emma affords another instance of speed and handling 
when young, with subsequent improvement into a first-rate, 
fast, and lasting trotter. At three years old she went half 
a mile in public in one minute nineteen and a half seconds, 
and a mile in two minutes fifty-two seconds, or thereabouts. 
The training and racing she had as a three-year-old did not 
at all impair her bottom, as her more recent performances 
have abundantly shown. In this regard, I look upon Lady 
Emma as a strong case in point. She steadily increased her 
speed every year of her training, and in bottom she was 
second to none. 

A friend of mine, who is a noted admirer of running- 
horses, has always insisted that this mare was thrown back 
to some ancestor in the pedigree of Old Messenger — very 
likely Flying Childers himself, he says. It is true that she 



62 TEE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

looked like a thoroughbred four-miler ; but I would not take 
it upon me to affirm that the likeness came from such a 
remote ancestor. Shepherd Knapp and Jessie were another 
pair that were trained early, and with no ill-effect, even 
though their race was one of uncommon severity. They 
were four years old, and trotted five heats, the best of which 
was two minutes and forty seconds. It was the second 
heat, and was won by the filly after she had previously won 
the first. Upon seeing the time of this heat, I concluded 
that the colt could beat her ; and he won the three subse- 
quent heats, the best of them being in two minutes forty- 
one seconds. But though, in view of his recent doings in 
France, it cannot be said that this severe race did the colt 
any permanent injury, it would be too much to affirm that 
it did him any good. Next year, while in training for his 
match with Harry Clay, he continually hit himself in the 
elbows, by reason of excessive knee-action as it appeared ; 
and this prevented the bringing of him up to the mark. 
This horse recently trotted two miles and a half in France, 
in six minutes and fourteen seconds ; which is a trifle better 
than the rate of two-thirty to the mile. 

The mare Cora was another very fast trotter at an early 
age. She went in two minutes and thirty-seven and a half 
seconds, at three years old, in Kentucky j and her improve- 
ment since has been very marked. She was sent to me by 
her then owner in 18G6, but did not remain long enough 
to be put in condition. Within a week or ten days, she 
was sold for a very large sum to a gentleman of great ex- 
perience and knowledge in respect to trotting-horses. Like 
Lady Emma, this mare is noted for bottom as well as speed, 
— a proof, I think, that her early training never hurt her 
stamina. But I do not say that she would not have been 
just as good without quite so much of it as she had at three 
years old ; and, unless there is some great object in view, I 
should not subject a good three-year-old to a strong prepa- 
ration. If, however, a man can sell a colt at three or four 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 63 

years old, for eight, nine, ten, or eleven thousand dollars, 
by being able to show great speed and ability to repeat, 
it is an object worth some risk and trouble. It is by no 
means certain that the colt will ever attain to the rank of 
& first-rate trotter, even though he be very fast at three or 
four years old, and the training by which his precocious 
speed was developed has not hurt his stamina, his temper, 
or his legs. I think that the first class of trotting-horses 
will still be very select ; though, other things being equal, 
a fast four-year-old is more likely to reach it than one not 
so fast. — 

The instances we have had, however, of wonderful trot- 
ters that never exhibited any extraordinary speed until they 
were from six to ten years old, cannot be disregarded. I shall 
have occasion to particularize them hereafter, when we come 
to speak of the training of the matured trotter. Mean- 
time, I need only mention Flora Temple, Mr. Bonner's 
mares Peerless and Lady Palmer, and the late little horse 
Prince. But as long as customers are to be found for fast 
three and four year olds at very high rates, they will cer- 
tainly be trained ; and my object is to induce the owners 
and handlers to guard against the forcing severity and the 
heart-breaking dogging with which the process is too often 
accompanied. There is another reason likely to be sufficient 
to induce gentlemen to train three-year olds ; which is, that it 
is often desirable to show the produce of stallions at as early 
a period as possible. This has no doubt operated quite as 
strongly with the Kentucky breeders as the desire of get- 
ting high prices for the colts they trotted. All the fast 
colts that they have shown there have not, however, been 
equally fortunate with Cora. Ericsson, who made the best 
four-year-old time, and another that went with him, have 
not improved upon their colt form. The gray colts raised 
by Mr. Alexander, and recently sold at high figures to gen- 
tlemen in this vicinity, may have better luck. 

Another gray that showed much speed and cleverness at 



64 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

a very early age was Mr. Hall's colt, Young America, by 
Hoagland's Gray Messenger. He trotted two races at two 
years old, on this Island, and won them both. In the first 
trot he beat a colt by Ethan Allen, and in the next defeated 
Rocky Hill. The time of this last was about three min- 
utes and six seconds. The produce of this gray horse of 
Hoagland's inherit the trotting gift very strongly from 
him, together with the hearty constitution and cast-iron 
legs that have commonly been found united in the descend- 
ants of Old Messenger. Another thing was, that he got most 
of them gray and in his own likeness. The premature death 
of this horse was much to be regretted ; for his cover seems 
to have been almost, or quite, as sure to bring a trotter as 
that of Hambletonian. His colt out of the Platbush Maid, 
and another one of the same age out of Lady Moscow, have 
had the benefit of a good sound tuition without any forcing 
and they are a very good example of what may be done with 
four-year-olds without hurting them in the smallest degree. 
Blonde is another of the same strain and stamp, and there 
is a suspicion out that she is very fast. 

The colt Bruno, by Hambletonian, out of a mare said to 
be of French origin, is another very remarkable instance of 
great trotting speed early developed. There is no question 
in my mind about his ability to have beaten any thing that 
has yet appeared upon the trotting-turf at four years old ; 
and as there is no reason to believe that he has been at 
all injured by his training up to this time, the presump- 
tion is that he will be in the first class of trotters. Taken 
altogether, I look upon Bruno's three-year-old race as more 
remarkable than that of Cora in Kentucky, though her 
three-year-old time was about a second better than he 
made. The long-scoring, the repeating of the heat, and 
the shutting-up of an enormous gap during the last, con- 
tributed to enhance the marvel of the performance. 

It may be doubted whether the taxing of a three-year- 
old's speed and endurance with such severity ought not to 



THE TRGVTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 65 

be avoided. My own opinion is against it ; and therefore I 
should not make a match in which a colt of that age was 
likely to be called upon to exert all his powers, unless the 
circumstances were extraordinary. A great deal, however, 
depends upon the constitution and forwardness of the colt. 
A handy, vigorous, clean-actioned little fellow like Bruno, 
may be more fit to trot a race at three years old than a 
gangling, loose horse would be at five. The trainer and 
owner, with all the circumstances before them, must judge 
for themselves : but, as a general rule, do not treat your 
colts worse than you do your criminals; if the matter is 
doubtful, give the colt the benefit of the doubt, — refuse to 
conclude the match if it is not made, and pay forfeit if it is. 
When I say doubtful, I do not mean the winning of the 
money, because that is always doubtful, but the inflicting 
of an injury upon the colt, either to his legs, temper, or 
stamina, by too much exertion in preparing or in trotting. 

If, after all, a man makes up his mind to risk young 
things in tight places, where the violent and continued 
exertion of all their powers will probably be called for, 
it may be well enough for him to approach in his system 
of raising and feeding his colts, the forcing method of the 
running-horsemen. In order that the colt may be able to 
stand up under the treatment calculated for an elder horse, 
he must be made old as soon as possible ; and strong feeds 
of oats from the first time he can be got to eat them is the 
way to do this. Thereby the time of maturity may be 
anticipated ; but at the expense of the thoroughness of the 
maturity, I think, and certainly at the great risk of .its 
endurance. As I before had occasion to state, rapid arrival 
at maturity is almost always followed by premature decay, 
and this is especially the case with things forced by high 
feeding when very young. It is also to be kept in mind 
that the running-colt, during his training and his race, has 
some compensation for his youth in the way of weight, 
which the young trotter cannot have. A two-year-old colt 



66 THE TROTTIXG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

running in this country will only carry a very light boy, 
and the three-year-old weight is but ninety pounds for colts 
and eighty-seven for fillies ; whereas the young trotter will 
have to pull as much as George Wilkes, Lady Emma, or 
General Butler, in a race in harness. Moreover, the run- 
ning-race for two-year-olds is commonly but a short dash ; 
while the three-year-old trotter is called upon to go races 
of heats, and the four-year-old mile heats, three in five. 

But if, after all is said, the owner of the promising three- 
year-old determines to match and train him, he had better 
be sure that the preparation is not too severe. It will be 
better to rely upon the speed and goodness of the colt, and 
the ability and management of the driver to win, than to 
screw the young thing up to the pitch of condition at the 
risk of upsetting him. If the colt is overtrained now, he is 
not only damaged for the time being, but the injury to his 
legs, temper, or constitution, will very likely be permanent. 
There are colts, just as there are some old horses, that will 
stand almost any thing, and no amount of ignorance and reck- 
lessness seems sufficient to spoil them ; but these are the ex- 
ceptional cases, to be avoided, not imitated. "With all the 
care that we can take, and all the caution that we can exercise, 
we shall find enough of our promising youngsters disappoint 
us in the expectations we have formed, without running the 
risk of ruining them by tasks too severe for the immature 
condition of their bones and sinews, and for that lack of 
seasoning which accompanies their early years. I admit, 
that, when a man has a fast colt, the temptation is strong to 
earn honor and profit by the public display of his powers : 
but in almost every instance it ought to be resisted ; for its 
premature indulgence is too often like the conduct of the 
improvident savages, who cut down trees to get at the 
fruit. 



V. 



Actual Training of the Three-year-old. — No Physic and no Sweat at first.— 
Danger of " Overmarking." — Strong Feed of Oats and Hay. — Bran- 
Mashes. — Rubbing the Legs. — Full supply of Water. — Management 
before and in the Race. — Strains likely to stand Early Training. — The 
Abdallahs. 

HAVING given my views as to the prudence of train- 
ing a three-year-old colt for a race, I shall now make 
some remarks upon the course advisable to be followed 
where the match has been made and the race is to come off. 
The colt may have been kept in the stable all the winter, 
or he may have had the run of a lot on fine days, with a loose 
box at night. In either case, his work in the spring is to be 
exactly like that which he was called on to do in the fall 
of his two-year-old stage, beginning very gently, and tak- 
ing care never to keep him so long at it as to fret and 
discourage him. No physic is required, nor is any sweat 
demanded to begin with. It is to be remembered that the 
growing animal does not make internal fat like an old horse, 
and that the system has not attained the firmness and hard- 
ness which will bear scraping and squeezing to be drawn 
fine. If a colt is stripped of his fat and reduced in flesh as 
old horses are, his growth is stopped, and the muscular 
development that is now in process is interfered with to the 
lasting disadvantage of the animal. Therefore, the utmost 
caution is required in dealing with them ; and the effect of 
the work is to be carefully watched from day to day hy the 
person having them in charge. Before the work is begun 
at all, it must be apparent that the colt is full of health, and 

67 



68 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

possessed of that buoyancy and elasticity of spirit which a 
young thing ought to have anyhow, and which are abso- 
lutely necessary to bear him up under the treatment to 
which he is now to be subjected. If ho is bold and familiar, 
and a little given to mischief, so much the better ; that is a 
very different thing from vice, and much to be preferred to 
llightiness and nervousness. 

Begin with a little walking exercise every day, and from 
that proceed to moderate work in harness. See that every 
thing is done to make the colt enter into his work with 
good pluck, and take care that the jogging is not carried so 
far as to make it monotonous and disgusting to him. It 
should not be confined to the course, but he may be driven 
about the country-roads when they are good ; and the spurts 
of speed in which he is indulged should be lively but short.. 
By this means he will always leave off with a desire to go a 
little farther, and will dash out with alacrity when he is 
called upon to go again. The speed will be increased, in 
nine cases out of ten, by this treatment ; and the gait will be 
maintained square and open. Speed can neither be created 
nor preserved by forcing when young. If the colt goes 
frisking and playing along, he feels well at his jogging, and 
you may send him a trifle farther in his spurts. But if, on 
the other hand, he looks dull and jaded, and requires to bo 
urged, save him. It will do harm instead of good to keep 
him at it : for he is in danger of being " overmarked ; " and, 
if that once takes place in the course of this his first prep- 
aration, you had better pay forfeit, and give him a long 
let-up. So, also, if he begins to hitch and hobble in his 
gait, you must let him up in his work. It is of no use to 
keep on in hopes that he will go square again. The more 
you keep on, the worse the mischief will be. Study the 
disposition of the colt. If you cannot understand him, it is 
not at all likely that he will understand you. 

I have seen many very promising three-year-old colts 
broken in their gaits, and got to paddling, solely by the 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 69 

obstinacy of the man in charge, who had determined to 
"make trotters ont of theni." It was this foolish attempt 
at "making" that prevented their being trotters in 
good time. The three-year-old colt, of the two, is more 
difficult to deal with than the two-year-old. The former 
is shedding his colt's teeth, his mouth is broken, his gums 
sore, and his system more or less fevered. His food is not 
thoroughly masticated, and sometimes he will not consume 
his usual quantity. There is a vastly greater difference 
between him and an old horse, than between him and a 
two-year-old, in solidity of bone, in duration of sinew, and 
development of muscle. The difference between the two 
and three year old, in reference to their ability to stand work, 
is one of degree only, and not of kind. When the two- 
year-old is well formed, hardy and lusty for his age, he is 
more fit to take work than a three-year-old with a broken 
mouth and fevered system. It being discovered, however, 
that the colt in training is doing well, the system I have 
indicated is to be pursued in such degree as his constitu- 
tion and disposition call for. 

The feed is now to be according to his size, appetite, 
and work. Eight, nine, ten, or, in some extraordinary cases, 
even twelve quarts of oats a day may be given. Once in a 
while he may have a very little corn ; but there is no real 
occasion for it, except in case of a poor feeder. There is no 
doubt at all about the fact that oats are the best food for a 
horse. They supply the greatest quantity of the constitu- 
ents of the muscular fibre which the horse is always 
expending, while corn supplies the fatty matter in greatest 
quantity. Therefore, keep the corn for the bullocks and 
hogs, and give oats to the horses. Some say that ccrn may 
be fed to colts, because its silicious particles go to make up 
bone ; but enough of these earthy matters will be found in 
the hay, in the husks of the oats, and in the water. In 
this training the colt is to have all the hay that he will eat 
up clean. His general health and the condition of his 



70 TEE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

bowels are to be watched, and a bran-mash, is to be given 
when it is thought that it will be beneficial. It may usu- 
ally be ventured on at least once a week, unless there is a 
tendency to looseness. Its effects are comforting and sooth- 
ing, and it promotes the secretions as well as empties the 
bowels. He is to be fed and to have a little water before 
going to work, in the same way as I have laid down in 
regard to the colt at two years old. 

The legs of the colt may be hand-rubbed a little during 
his course of training ; but they do not want it like those of 
a battered-up old horse : and my motto is that what is not 
wanted ought not to be attempted. Water is to be kept 
away from the legs of the colt as much as possible : they 
are to be kept clean by means of the brush and cloth. As 
his work goes on, his brushes may be extended to a quarter 
of a mile ; but he is always to be kept well within himself. 
It is to be borne in mind that there are no great things to 
be done with him this year, except to develop his speed, 
and see to it that he is kept in good health. More will 
have to be done in conditioning by and by j but it will be a 
year or two, perhaps three, before he is fit to stand the 
"grand preparation," as our friends the race-horse men 
call the thorough-training process. Meantime, it is to be 
thought, that if he has had his health, has stood his work 
well, and has shown an increase of speed, you will be want- 
ing to see what he can do towards the race. But you must 
withstand the temptation to do any thing like what he will 
be called on to do in public ; for, if he does it for you now, 
it is likely enough that he will not be able to do it on the 
day in question. Eight or ten days prior to the race, having 
ascertained that he feels in good health and strong heart, 
brush him half a mile. You can tell by the way he finishes, 
and by how he feels afterwards, whether he will be likely to 
stand the mile-heat out and to repeat it. Unless the 
trainer can form a judgment in this matter, there is very 
little chance for the colt in the race, except the other man 



THE TROTTING-HQRSE OF AMERICA. 71 

is equally incapable of forming an estimate of his colt's 
stamina without -repeating Mm. During the whole course 
of the work, the colt is to have a full supply of water every 
day ; but he is to have it at different times, and not to be 
allowed to distend himself with a great quantity of water 
at one time. The night before the nice, the muzzle is to be 
put on, if he is a gross feeder, and is likely to eat the straw 
of his bedding. Before this, the usual quantity of oats and 
about a pound and a half of hay may be given. If the 
colt has been in the habit of drinking a large allowance of 
water, he may have two-thirds of a pailful before he is 
muzzled for the night ; but, if he has usually only consumed 
a small quantity, do not give him quite so much. This 
water will all have been absorbed and thrown out of the 
system again before he is called upon to act. Next morn- 
ing early, before he goes out to walk, let him have two 
quarts of oats, and about the same quantity of water. 
Usually, he need only take walking exercise on this morn- 
ing ; but if he happens to be a strong, hearty fellow, and 
given to be riotous in disposition, he ought to be jogged 
four or five miles. At about eleven o'clock feed him from 
a quart to three pints of oats, and from half a pound to a 
pound and a half of hay. Less than half a pound is not 
sufficient to stay the stomach ; more than a pound and a 
half is likely to be mischievous, and to interfere with the 
wind. 

Between those quantities, the trainer must judge accord- 
ing to the disposition and constitution of the colt. He is 
not to be drawn fine and reduced like an old horse ; but, at 
the same time, he must not be called upon to perform the 
unusual feat before him with any thing like a full stomach. 
If he is distressed after the heat, and seems weak, give him 
a little gruel, or a small quantity of wine and water ; or you 
may even administer a little good brandy. It is astonish- 
ing what a dose of brandy will sometimes do for a horse 
when he is badly ofT, and it looks as if he was going to be 



72 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

beaten. It will not do, however, to be giving brandy unless 
it is clearly required ; and here, again, the trainer must use 
his own judgment, and have firmness enough to follow its 
dictates. There are always enough outsiders, who, having 
nothing at stake and no responsibility, will give advice 
gratis ; but it is commonly to be disregarded. 

In deciding upon what a colt may be safely called upon 
to do at an early age, his breed, as well as his form, disposi- 
tion, and constitution, must be taken into account. Those 
strains which are related more or less closely to the blood- 
horse may be trained at an earlier period, and will stand 
more work, than the colder-blooded sorts. This is well 
understood by those who prepare the steeple-chasers of 
England and Canada. Some of these horses are quite 
thoroughbred, some nearly thoroughbred, and some not 
above half-bred. Now, it has been found by experience, 
that of two horses apparently alike in stoutness and excel- 
lence of constitution, but one nearly .thoroughbred and the 
other only half-bred, the amount of work which will improve 
the wind and speed, and harden the condition, of the former, 
will almost certainly overmark and ruin the chance of the 
other. Then the muscles shrink, and become soft and 
unstrung, instead of increasing in volume and consistency ; 
then the eye is dull, and the feed is no longer consumed 
with relish in sufficient quantity. The breed is therefore 
to be considered as well as the natural constitution of the 
individual horse in hand. 

The stock of the famous horse Abdallah, who was by 
Mambrino, a thoroughbred son of imported Messenger, 
would almost all stand training at an early age ; and what 
is, perhaps, more important, it did not appear to impair 
their future durability. It is now thirty years ago since I 
rode two famous trotting-horses of his get. One of them, 
Ajax, was foaled in 1834; the other, Hector, the next year, 
1835. At five years old, they were both capital trotters ; 
and by and by, when we come to speak of the trotting- 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 73 

horses with which I have had to do in the course cf my 
career, I shall have more to say ahout them. Fourth of 
July, a gray horse hy Abdallah, was another good trotter 
at five years old. Medoc was another of his get that was 
justly noted ; and there was Brooklyn Maid, a very fast 
mare, and a noted sticker. In 1840, when she was only 
five years old, this mare trotted a fifth heat in two minutes 
and thirty-six seconds. Considering that this was twenty- 
five years ago, it must be regarded as a capital performance. 
The Abdallahs came on early, and lasted long. They were 
commonly full of spirits, wild and playful as kittens, with 
first-rate stamina, and always ready to trot. Through this 
grandson of his, the strain of old Messenger was diffused 
east and west in this country ; and at this day it seems to 
have parted with none of its blood-like, speedy, and endur- 
ing qualities. His son Hambletonian also gets produce 
which stand work early, and promise to be in nowise defi- 
cient in endurance. During the time he was in Kentucky, 
Abdallah did a great deal for the trotting-horse out there ; 
and % they have wisely re-enforced the infusion by further 
importations of the Messenger blood. 

When it is considered that their trotting-stallions have 
been very often well-bred, and then put to thoroughbred 
mares, it must go far to account for the extraordinary feats 
performed there by colts that were only four years old. I 
see no absolute reason to deny the statement made, that Mr. 
Alexander's colt Bay Chief, by Mambrino Chief, out of a 
thoroughbred mare, trotted half a mile, at four years old, in 
one minute and eight seconds. It is to be regretted that 
the wounds he got in the battle with the guerillas have 
ruined him. Ericsson's mile — the fourth heat — in two 
minutes thirty and a half seconds was an astonishing thing 
for a four-year-old, especially when it is added that it was 
done to a wagon. It does not appear upon the record that 
this was the case, for the way of going is not set down; 
but I learn from a gentleman of unquestionable veracity, 



74 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

who had to do with the colt at the time, that he trotted to 
a wagon. 

Kentucky Chief, who won the first heat, and afterwards 
went to California, where he died, was another good one. 
He went in harness. Idol was another very fast one when 
young ; and Brignoli was thought to be about as good as 
they are made. Royal George was another very fast one ; 
and quite recently there have been Mr. Alexander's gray 
geldings Dudley and Bull E-un, and his bay stallion Bay 
Chief. The information as to Morgan Chief, or Ericsson, as 
he is now called, having trotted that mile in two thirty and 
a half, to wagon, came from a gentleman who had an inter- 
est in him at the time, and brought a trotter from Kentucky 
to me to be trained last fall. He said, too, that he was a 
great, overgrown colt, standing about sixteen and a half 
hands high, and could trot faster to a wagon than he could 
to a sulky. That was the same meeting where Cora made 
her two minutes thirty-seven and three-quarters, and 
Medoc, since called John Morgan, won at two and three 
mile heats. 



VI. 

Characteristics of the Stars. — Of the Bashaws. — The Clays. — The Trus- 
tees. — Natural Trotters in England. — Of Trotters that paced. — To 
make Pacers trot. 

THE produce of American Star are hardly as safe to 
train early as those of Messenger through Abdallah, 
Mambrino Chief, &c., by reason of their being more fragile 
about the legs. When, however, the two lines are combined, 
this is rectified ; and the cross seems to make a very fine, 
fast trotting-horse, as near perfection as may be. Such is 
Mr. Bonner's gray mare Peerless, who was by Star out of 
a gray mare full of the Messenger blood. She is the fastest 
that I (or, indeed, anybody else) have ever driven to a wagon. 
Dexter is another capital instance of the value of this cross. 
Some of the Stars have given out in the legs ; but their 
pluck is so good that they stand up to the last, when little 
better than mere cripples. It is no wonder that they have 
great game and courage ; for Star's grandsire was the thor- 
ough-bred four-miler Henry, who ran for the South, on the 
Island here, against Eclipse, in 1823. I went to see the 
race, and got a licking for it when I came home. The Mes- 
senger cross gives the Stars size, strength, and bone, and 
counteracts their hereditary tendency to contraction of the 
feet. It would not do to breed the Stars in-and-in, as has 
answered so well with the descendants of Messenger. Wid- 
ow Machree, a daughter of Star, was a very fast, game mare, 
and an all-day trotter. The little horse Bolly Lewis was 
another good one by him, and Goshen Maid still another. 



She went the fourth heat to a wagon in 2.32^. 



75 



76 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

The Bashaws were not commonly trained early ; and they 
were not natural trotters in the same degree as the horses 
of the Messenger line. The Bashaws originated from Grand 
Bashaw, a horse imported from Barbary ; and they have been 
principally represented through his son, Young Bashaw, and 
his sons, Black Bashaw, Andrew Jackson, and Saladin. 
Black Bashaw did not trot in public ; neither did Abdallah, 
Messenger's grandson. The latter never was in harness in 
his life ; but you could jump on him bare-backed, and he 
would go right away a fifty-clip. In those days, entire 
horses were not trained. It was thought that they would 
be ruined for service if they were " put through the mill " 
for racing purposes ; and so, when they showed a good gait, 
they were reserved for the stud. The notion also prevailed, 
that it would ruin a trotter to train him before he was five 
or six years old. The only Bashaw that I know of that 
trotted at three years old was the gray filly before mentioned, 
beaten by Gypsy in 1830. My uncle, George Woodruff, had 
a very high opinion of the Bashaws. He handled more of 
them, including Lantern and George Washington, than any 
other man, I think. He had old Topgallant, a son of im- 
ported Messenger, and a noted old-time trotter. More will 
have to be said about that class of horses hereafter. 

Young Bashaw became much noted through his son An- 
drew Jackson, who was one of the first stallions that ever 
trotted in public. His best performance was at Centreville 
some thirty years ago — it was 1835 : he went two miles in 
5.18. He got Long-Island Black Hawk, who was the first 
horse that trotted a mile in 2.40 to a 2501b. wagon. It was 
against Jenny Lind, who went to a skeleton wagon, and 
won the second heat in 2.38. The stallion beat her the 
race, which was the first he ever went. Black Hawk won 
the stallion stake on Union Course in 1849. He beat Cas- 
sius M. Clay ; and St. Lawrence paid forfeit. This Long- 
Island Black Hawk was a capital horse. He could pull auy 
weight, and was good for a long distance, as the race of 



THE TROTTING-EOBSE OF AMERICA. 77 

three-mile heats in which he beat Americus showed. The 
wagons and drivers weighed 350 lbs. He is not to be con- 
founded with the tribe of Black Hawks that left the trot- 
ing-place up in Vermont, and flew all over the Western 
country, some years ago. This was a horse of another 
stamp altogether. I have said that I did not think the 
Bashaws quite equal to the Messenger line for natural trot- 
ting. It is, however, hard to separate them, as the dam of 
Young Bashaw's dam was a Messenger mare ; and the lines 
have been otherwise closely mingled. George Woodruff is 
of opinion that Black Bashaw, who was the sire of Awful, 
Lantern, &c, would have got as many fast trotters as any 
horse that ever lived if he had had good mares. He stood 
at ten dollars, and hardly ever received a good mare. After- 
wards, his fee was raised to twenty dollars ; but he still had 
common mares. The Monmouth-Eclipse mare, that was the 
dam of Lightning, was an exception. Awful was a capital 
trotter — perhaps the best of the Black Bashaws. George 
Woodruff drove him in 2m. 25s. over Point-Breeze Park, in 
a trial, before he brought him on here. 

It is said t^at Henry Clay, a son of Andrew Jackson, is 
still living in this State. He got Cassius M. Clay, who 
was the sire of George M. Patchen. The dam of this last 
famous trotter was said to have been got by a son of im- 
ported Trustee. Trustee got but few trotters. The chest- 
nut horse, so-called, who went twenty miles in harness, was 
by far the best of the few he got j and I believe that his 
dam, Fanny Pullen, put the trotting action into him. 
There was another got by imported Trustee, called Trus- 
tee, Jr., who trotted ten miles well. There have been other 
Clays who got a few very good trotting-horses about here ; 
but, as their produce was not trained early, it is unnecessary 
to mention them in this connection. And there have been 
some whose reputed pedigrees were too uncertain to be 
relied on. Prince, the Buffalo horse, burnt last fall in 
Massachusetts, was one that nobody can tell any thing 



80 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

His improvement was as rapid as that of Pelham and Pilot, 
perhaps more so ; for in 1840 he trotted his first race at 
Centreville, and did two miles in five minutes and fifteen 
seconds. 

Tip was another fast pacer that saw the error of his way 
of going, and took to trotting. He belonged to Rochester, 
and was afterwards sold to a gentleman in Jersey. As a 
pacer he was very fast. After he had begun to trot, Spicer 
got him, and he trotted in public low down in the thirties. 
As a general rule, those horses that have been pacers have 
been very steady, and, when trotting fast, have seemed 
afraid to break. But some of them have caused a good 
deal of disappointment and some profanity by taking to 
pacing again all of a sudden, in the middle of a race, or 
even in the middle of a heat. There was a roan horse 
called Dart, that had been a pacer, but had struck a trot, 
and he was in my charge. He could go like a bullet ; for I 
have driven him a quarter of a mile to a wagon in thirty- 
four seconds, with my watch in my hand. Finally he was 
matched, and we thought we had a good thing of it ; and so 
we should if the brute hadn't kicked over the milk-pail. 
He won the first heat easily ; but in the next, when quite 
within himself, he suddenly struck a pace, just as if he was 
determined to show the company that he could go both 
ways. All my efforts to get him down to a trot were fruit- 
less. Dart wouldn't trot ; and so, when we came to the gate, 
I just made him dart out of the course, without going near 
the judges. Still, I should not be afraid of this in a pacer 
that had taken up a trot and gone* that gait a reasonable 
time with steadiness. A trotting-horse is so much more 
valuable than a pacer, that, if I had one of the latter that 
could go in 2.20, I. should watch carefully for the chance to 
make a trotter out of him. 

Any pacing-horse can be made to trot by putting rails 
down, and making him move over them. His fore-fest will 
get over clean ; but he cannot shufne his h:nd-feet ov^r at a 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OJ^ AMERICA. 81 

pace without hitting, and he must trot very soon or fall 
down. This method is sometimes adopted ; but it is much 
better when the horse strikes a trot himself without these 
impediments. This he is most likely to do after having 
been driven a good distance and got tired. The reason 
that should prevent us from driving a trotter when tired, 
for fear of making him break his gait, will rather be for 
driving the pacer when a little tired ; for his gait is not one 
that we wish to preserve, and this is a means towards 
the changing of it. It is more laborious than any other 
way of going. The trotting-horse, moving the near fore- 
leg and the off hind-leg together, and then the off fore-leg 
and near hind-leg together, keeps upright, and is like a ship 
sailing steady on an even keel. The pacer, moving both 
near legs together and both off legs together, has a rocking 
motion, like that of a ship in a rolling sea. The pacer, 
though knowing no other gait but a gallop or a walk be- 
sides his pace, is likely to change it for the first time when 
he has been driven so far with that movement as to become 
tired. If he then strikes a trot it eases him ; and it then 
becomes the business of the driver to encourage him in his 
new gait by every means. The best way to proceed with a 
pacer that has struck a trot in this manner is put the roll- 
ers on him the next time he goes out. The effect is the 
same on him as on the young trotter whose gait has been 
broken. They must be changed from leg to leg as occasion 
may require ; and when a pacer is got to a square trot, he 
is to be kept at it by the nicest kind of handling. Other 
fast pacers beside those I have mentioned have made trot- 
ters. Among them there was American Doe. Sim Hoag- 
land handled her ; and drove her trotting in 2m. 39s. ; he 
weighing more than two hundred pounds. 
6 



80 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

His improvement was as rapid as that of Pelham and Pilot, 
perhaps more so ; for in 1840 he trotted his first race at 
Centreville, and did two miles in five minutes and fifteen 
seconds. 

Tip was another fast pacer that saw the error of his way 
of going, and took to trotting. He belonged to Rochester, 
and was afterwards sold to a gentleman in Jersey. As a 
pacer he was very fast. After he had begun to trot, Spicer 
got him, and he trotted in public low down in the thirties. 
As a general rule, those horses that have been pacers have 
been very steady, and, when trotting fast, have seemed 
afraid to break. But some of them have caused a good 
deal of disappointment and some profanity by taking to 
pacing again all of a sudden, in the middle of a race, or 
even in the middle of a heat. There was a roan horse 
called Dart, that had been a pacer, but had struck a trot, 
and he was in my charge. He could go like a bullet ; for I 
have driven him a quarter of a mile to a wagon in thirty- 
four seconds, with my watch in my hand. Finally he was 
matched, and we thought we had a good thing of it ; and so 
we should if the brute hadn't kicked over the milk-pail. 
He won the first heat easily ; but in the next, when quite 
within himself, he suddenly struck a pace, just as if he was 
determined to show the company that he could go both 
ways. All my efforts to get him down to a trot were fruit- 
less. Dart wouldn't trot ; and so, when we came to the gate, 
I just made him dart out of the course, without going near 
the judges. Still, I should not be afraid of this in a pacer 
that had taken up a trot and gone that gait a reasonable 
time with steadiness. A trotting-horse is so much more 
valuable than a pacer, that, if I had one of the latter that 
could go in 2.20, I. should watch carefully for the chance to 
make a trotter out of him. 

Any pacing-horse can be made to trot by putting rails 
down, and making him move over them. His fore-fest will 
get over clean; but he cannot shufne his h;nd-feet ovsr at a 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF^ AMERICA. 81 

pace without hitting, and he must trot very soon or fall 
down. This method is sometimes adopted ; but it is much 
better when the horse strikes a trot himself without these 
impediments. This he is most likely to do after having 
been driven a good distance and got tired. The reason 
that should prevent us from driving a trotter when tired, 
for fear of making him break his gait, will rather be for 
driving the pacer when a little tired ; for his gait is not one 
that we wish to preserve, and this is a means towards 
the changing of it. It is more laborious than any other 
way of going. The trotting-horse, moving the near fore- 
leg and the off hind-leg together, and then the off fore-leg 
and near hind-leg together, keeps upright, and is like a ship 
sailing steady on an even keel. The pacer, moving both 
near legs together and both off legs together, has a rocking 
motion, like that of a ship in a rolling sea. The pacer, 
though knowing no other gait but a gallop or a walk be- 
sides his pace, is likely to change it for the first time when 
he has been driven so far with that movement as to become 
tired. If he then strikes a trot it eases him ; and it then 
becomes the business of the driver to encourage him in his 
new gait by every means. The best way to proceed with a 
pacer that has struck a trot in this manner is put the roll- 
ers on him the next time he goes out. The effect is the 
same on him as on the young trotter whose gait has been 
broken. They must be changed from leg to leg as occasion 
may require ; and when a pacer is got to a square trot, he 
is to be kept at it by the nicest kind of handling. Other 
fast pacers beside those I have mentioned have made trot- 
ters. Among them there was American Doe. Sim Hoag- 
land handled her ; and drove her trotting in 2m. 39s. ; he 
weighing more than two hundred pounds. 
6 



J 



VIL 

Horses that paoe and trot too. — Not to be trusted on the Course.— 
Trotters that amble off in a Pace when first out of the Stable. — Speed, 
and its Relation to Stoutness. — The Gray Mare Peerless. — Styles of 
Going. —Gait of Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. — Bush Messenger's 
Get. —Vermont Hambletonian's Get. — Influence of Messenger. — Hob- 
bling in Jogging. 

I LAST spoke of the natural and fast pacers which had 
afterwards taken to trotting, and made fine horses for the 
course at that gait. It must be added, that much care and 
patience are necessary in the treatment and handling of 
them while they are in the time of transition between the 
pace and trot and not thorough at either. Some remain all 
their lives capable of pacing and trotting : and these are 
useless for the course, by reason of the fact, that, if matched 
to pace, they may strike a trot, and so lose ; and, if matched 
to trot, they may fall into a pace, and lose that way. But 
they are often fine, lasting road-horses, able to go a distance, 
and to make such fast brushes by pacing that no road-trot- 
ter can get by them. It was one of this sort that beat the 
dam of Flatbush Maid on the road j and it was only by 
changing the gait that it was done. That mare, the dam 
of the Maid, was a good one. The horse who got the little 
bay out of her was a pacer, — a chestnut. I recollect his 
winning a race here years ago. He had good blood in him, 
and could trot as well as pace. The mare was one of the 
Messenger tribe, — a gray, flea-bitten about the head and. 
neck. 

Besides those who pace and afterwards make reliable 
trotters, and those who pace sometimes and trot sometimes, 
82 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 83 

there is a class that begin from a walk in an ambling pace, 
and go from that into the finest kind of a fast and steady 
trot. Some of our very best trotters of old times, and 
modern days as well, have had this habit of going off in a 
little pacing amble before they squared away in the flying 
trot. I like this kind. They begin with this kind of 
dainty amble, and some might think that they couldn't tret 
much ; but it is only like the play of the tiger before he 
makes his spring. It is interesting to note the difference 
in trotting-horses as they begin, before they get into the 
stride. Old Topgallant was one of those that go ambling 
off, though it was not invariable with him : it was with 
Tacony and with Lady Moscow. Duchess, who beat Lady 
Suffolk, was another that began with this sort of amble. 
Sontag was another ; and, more than that, she was a natural 
pacer before they made a trotter of her. It may be judged 
that she was a good trotter ; for when Whelan had her she 
beat Flora Temple, who was in Warren Peabody's hands. 
But Flora did not stay beat long. The very next week I 
took her, and beat Whelan and Sontag without much 
trouble. Three of the best mares in the country now may 
be noticed as going off with the kind of dainty amble that I 
have mentioned as a characteristic of Topgallant, Tacony, 
Lady Moscow, and Sontag. Mr. Bonner's gray mare 
Peerless always does it, and so does the famous chestnut 
Lady Palmer The other I now call to mind is the young 
gray mare that Dan Pfifer has, — Mr. Lorillard's Blonde. 
She goes off in just such a way. This young mare is going 
to be very remarkable if she has luck. She was by Hoag- 
land's Gray Messenger, and her dam by Old Abdallah. 
The old inare was a vicious jade, and of no use whatever 
except for the blood that was in her. She could kick 
higher than a man's head, and frightened one or two in this 
neighborhood, who tried to drive her, into fits. But the 
union between her and Hoagland's horse just hit the bull's- 
eye. The produce, Blonde, has been in Pfifer's hands ever 



84 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

since she was broken, and she is now " as fast as a ghost." 
She is only five years old, and has trotted a quarter of a 
mile in thirty-two seconds and a half. If she gets steady, 
as there is reason to believe she will with further handling, 
experience, and age, she is going to be one of our very best 
trotters. 

Some people say, " What's the use of a horse going a 
quarter fast ? " Now, they must go a quarter fast before 
they can go a mile fast ; and, when I have one that can go a 
quarter at that rate at five years old, I shall take very good 
care that she don't go that lick any farther just then. I 
drove Mr. Bonner's gray mare Peerless a quarter of a mile 
in thirty seconds, and it was to a wagon. I mentioned 
before that she was the fastest I ever drove to a wagon, or 
that anybody else ever did. It was on the Union Course. 
Capt. Moore timed her, unknown to me, or to any one 
else but himself. He had his race-horses there then, and 
almost slept with one eye open. Afterwards he came up to 
my house, and began to question Crepe Collins, and some of 
the others, about the gray mare " that Hiram had been 
driving." The opinion of many then was, that, though fast, 
she could only go a quarter of a mile ; and I wanted them to 
think so. Crepe knew it, and made some misunderstand- 
able sort of an answer. The others assured the captain 
that she was of " no account." But he was certain that he 
had timed her right j and, to make sure that there was no mis- 
take in the distance, he went and got his chain and boy and 
measured the ground. This mare, that people thought then 
could only go a quarter, carried me afterwards two miles to 
a wagon, Hoagland's weight some three hundred and eleven 
pounds, and finished well up with Lady Palmer, who is the 
best-bottomed mare to weight in the world, and one of the 
fastest. 

Gray Eddy was another of the kind that always amble 
off; and a capital horse he was. Plora does not amble to 
begin ; but, in jogging off slow, she goes rolling and tumbling 



THE TROTTWG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 85 

along, as if she had no gait at all, and was capahle of none. 
But when she squares away, and begins to deliver the real 
stroke, she has as tine and even a trot as any horse in the 
world. Her gait, in the rushes of lightning-speed when 
she darts up the stretch, is as square as ever was seen. It 
would be impossible for her to go as fast as she does if there 
was any hitch about her then. Ethan Allen goes right out 
of his tracks in a square trot from the beginning, and very 
few can head him for half a mile. Ned Forrest and Daniel 
D. Tompkins, the two that trotted at Philadelphia for $5,000 
a side, went square from the walk like Ethan. That match 
was three-mile heats, to go as they pleased, on the Hunt- 
ing-park Course, at Philadelphia, in 1838. General Cad- 
walladcr owned Ned Forrest, a black horse of unknown 
pedigree. Mr. Walton owned Daniel D. Tompkins, and 
George Youngs rode him. He came from Massachusetts, 
and was of the Maine, or Bush-Messenger, blood. That 
Bush Messenger was one of the last colts that old Messen- 
ger got, if not the very last. James Hammil rode the 
black horse ; but Daniel D. won the first heat in such style 
that General Cadwallader sold out his chance in the race 
for five hundred dollars. Anderson & Spicer, of New York, 
bought it, and put Forrest in harness. Spicer got in and 
drove him, but the other won it without any trouble. 
Daniel D. Tompkins was brought from Massachusetts to 
New York in 1834. I handled him then. He was a good 
little horse, a chestnut, under fifteen hands, with pluck 
enough for the biggest that ever trotted. 

This Bush, or Maine-Messenger, line was another very 
good ramification of the Messenger blood, and of great 
value to Maine and Massachusetts. The horse got a large 
number of fine trotters and some first-rate ones. The 
latter were nearly all chestnuts. I mentioned this fact to 
the friend who sometimes comes here to " talk horse " with 
me ; and says he, " Now here's a glorious confirmation of 
the old maxim, ' Like produces like, or the likeness of soma 



86 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

ancestor!' The Gray Messengers take after Mambrino, 
old Messenger's sire ; these chestnut-Bush Messengers take 
after Blaze and Flying Childers, the sire and grandsire of 
Sampson, who got Engineer, Mambrino' s sire. Now, here 
you see, Hiram, is a proof." 

" Stop ! " says I. " What you say is all very fine ; but I 
think it just as likely that the Bush Messenger's dam 
was a chestnut, as that his colts were thrown back to 
Flying Childers." 

The Bush Messenger, besides Daniel D. Tompkins, got 
Gen. Taylor, a very famous trotter and sticker : ne was 
also a chestnut. Henry was another of the tribe, and the 
same. Independence another, and a chestnut. And Fanny 
Pullen another of the same color. She had Trustee, the 
twenty-miler, by imported Trustee ; and he was also a chest- 
nut horse. Considering the good blood he inherited on 
both sides, it is no great wonder that he was a horse of 
such bottom and endurance. The Eaton horse, in Maine, 
is a near descendant of the Bush Messenger ; and he has 
kept up that line of trotters. Shepherd F. Knapp is one 
of his colts. While Maine had the Bush Messenger, 
Vermont got the blood of the old imported horse through 
Hambletonian, who was really a grandson of his. 
This horse got as good trotters as the Bush Messenger. 
He was the sire of True John, Green-Mountain Maid, 
Gray Vermont, and Sontag, — all first-rate horses. So it is 
clear, that besides the lines through Mambrino and Abdal- 
lah, and through Mambrino, Mambrino Paymaster, and 
Mambrino Chief, which diffused the blood of Messenger 
over Long Island, through New- York State at large, and 
in the blue-grass regions of Kentucky, there are to be 
taken into account those of the Bush Messenger and Ham- 
bletonian, who carried the strain into the Eastern States. 

It is curious to estimate the influence of one horse, 
especially if he lives to a great age, gets stallions that 
become noted, and stock distinguished for fine constitution 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 87 

and longevity, Messenger covered some twenty seasons in 
this country : and as he had plenty of mares, and was a 
sure foal-getter, he must have been the sire of about a 
thousand horses. Then comes the fact that his sons were 
as long-lived and as thoroughly employed in the work of 
increase as himself, and that his grandsons continued to 
possess the fine qualities and peculiar gifts which he owned 
and conferred. In this way, and taking into account the 
singular faculty these horses have had of stamping the 
living image of their line upon their produce, and of infus- 
ing into their sons and daughters the less tangible but not 
less real attributes of pluck, resolution, and endurance, we 
shall be enabled to make some estimate of the incalculable 
influence Messenger has had upon the trotting-stock of this 
country. 

It has been found that the blood of this famous horse 
" hits " with almost any other strain ; perhaps it would 
be more correct to say, that the constitution of the Messen- 
gers is so good, and their individuality so strongly marked, 
that, in the produce of their crosses with other families, their 
blood always predominates. With the Stars it is of the 
greatest value. The noted horse Brown Dick, whose trot- 
ting education was received during the three or four years 
he was in the hands of Dan Pfifer, was the first of this 
cross that attracted my notice. His history is this : A man 
named Dubois, who lived up in Orange or Duchess 
County, had a colt by Star, that was wicked, and not 
thought much of. Dubois, being in New York, bought 
an old gray mare of the Messenger blood, out of a 
cart, and, taking her home, had her covered by the Star 
colt before he was made a gelding. The produce was 
Brown Dick. His dam was a pacer ; but the colt soon 
became a fast and reliable trotter under Pfifer's manage- 
ment. He first trotted at six years old. His best race 
was against Patcken ; and he won it in 2.28, 2.25£, 2.28. 
He and Patchen and Miller's Damsel trotted another 



88 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

famous race on the Union Course. There were five heats ; 
and the time was 2.26-1, 2.26£, 2.29, 2.2Sf, 2.29. Five 
heats all inside of 2.30 was no common performance. The 
stallion finally won it, which was a proof of his staying 
powers. 

To conclude with the different ways trotting-horses have 
of beginning, it will he as well to mention, that I have 
known some who hobbled off at first as if they were lame. 
I could name some who would have been pronounced lame, 
when led out with a halter or driven at a slow jog, by 
almost any horseman, but were, nevertheless, perfectly 
sound, and only required to be suffered to go along at a 
good gait to establish the fact. I have known one or two 
very famous trotters that went as if they were lame all 
round when jogging slow. I have heard of running-horses 
of whom the same was said. The Queen of Trumps, a 
famous English mare by Velocipede out of Princess Boyal, 
had this peculiarity. I am told, that, when she was saddled 
for the Oaks, any man who did not know of it Would have 
made oath that she was lame on all-fours. But she won 
the race with ease, and afterwards carried off the St. Leger 
" in a walk," as our friends over the water say. A. J. 
Minor, the able and clever gentleman who trained for Mr. 
Ten Broeck in England, and now has charge of Kentucky 
and Mr. Hunter's horses, tells a good story about that 
saying. A horse called Tom something, — I forgot what, — 
ran a race for a cup at a country meeting, and, with a very 
large allowance of steel and whalebone at the finish, got 
the award in his favor by half a head. Minor says he had 
about a hundred stripes in the last fifty strides. As he was 
being led off to the stable, some of the trainer's friends, 
who had not seen the race, met them, and cried out, " How 
about t' race for t' coop ?" — " Oh, the cup ! " says the 
trainer, swinging his hat in the air, " why, old Tom won in 
a walk" 

I have found some horses that were not lame, but went 



TBS TROTTINQ-BORSE OS AMERICA. 89 

than the other. Sometimes there's a difference in the fore- 
legs; at others it is in the hind ones. Careful observation 
eL The I, eSpenenC A wi11 detect 'his, and the remedy is 
Art side eUed by a thicker Sh0e oa *»» 



VIII. 

Treatment the Winter before Training. — Frozen and Slippery Roads Bad. 
— Fattening up, an Evil. — The Feed in Winter. — Treatment in complete 
Let-up. — Clothing. — The Feet. — " Freezing out " Mischievous. — 
Horses that need Blistering. — Food and Treatment. — Stabling all 
Winter. — Treatment and Exercise. — Constitution to be kept in 
View. — Shedding-Time. — Walking Exercise. — Jogging. — No Fast 
Work at First. — No Physic commonly required. 

BEFORE entering upon the training of the trotter, it 
will be necessary to say something in regard to his 
treatment during the preceding winter ; for upon that a good 
deal depends as to the method and time which will be re- 
quired to get him into condition. If he has been trained and 
trotted in the previous summer and fall, his system at the 
beginning of the cold weather is sure to be somewhat in an 
inflammatory state from high feeding ; and it is probable that 
his legs will be a little stale from the amount of work they 
have undergone, and the severity with which he has, perhaps, 
banged them about. Various methods and degrees of treat- 
ment may be adopted, and the choice of them should de- 
pend altogether upon the state and constitution of the 
horse. If he is of a hardy habit, is in robust health, and 
his legs are all right, he may as well be driven moderately 
daring the winter, and kept as road-horses are. Care is to 
be taken, of course, that he is not suffered to extend him- 
self upon rough, hard roads ; and I think those who have 
him in charge should be wary of sleighing, and of driv- 
ing when the roads are frozen and slippery. The horse 
maybe shod how yoti please; but ingenuity cannot prevent 
bis slipping and sliding to some extent, when before a sleigh 
90 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 91 

or a wagon, upon a frozen road. He is therefore liable at 
such times to wrench and strain the muscles and ligaments ; 
and, though no mischief may be apparent, the wear and tear 
is by no means as moderate as it is supposed to be, even 
though he is driven slow. 

Care must also be taken that he is not fattened up. 
Some horses make flesh very fast when their work is 
small and irregular, and load the intestines and heart to 
such a degree, that the trainer has no end of trouble and 
anxiety to get it off. It is not only useless, but positively 
mischievous ; and hence the grain is to be reduced in win- 
ter to a little more than half the quantity he was accus- 
tomed to consume when in training. With this he may 
have a few carrots now and then, and a bran-mash occasion- 
ally. The hay he has should be good, clean, and sweet. 
Sufficient attention to this matter will well repay the 
little extra expense and trouble which may be called for to 
secure it. 

Should it be found, at the end of the season, that the 
trotter is stale, that his constitutional health and vigor are 
somewhat impaired, and his legs the worse for wear, it will 
not be wise to drive him during the winter. Instead of 
that, he may have a complete let-up, with a loose box, and 
a small outside lot to run in. The good rest is Nature's 
great restorative, when the constitutional powers have been 
heavily taxed by a long course of training, and severe 
work upon the course in the engagements the trotter may 
have been called upon to fulfil. To prepare him for his 
wintering, you should begin by gradually removing the 
clothes in which he has been accustomed to stand in the 
stable ; for during the time he runs out he is to have no 
artificial protection against the weather but that which the 
shelter of his box will afford when he seeks it. His own 
coat is to be his only clothing. His shoes should be pulled 
off; and his feet may be pared down, so as to remove the 
bruised and broken edges of the crust and prepare for the 



92 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

even growth which will follow. A pair of short tips may 
then be put upon the fore-feet, which will prevent the hoof 
from being broken, and let the horse down upon his heels so 
as to make them expand, and prevent any tendency towards 
contraction. During the period that he thus runs out, all 
grooming and dressing of the coat may be dispensed with ; 
and the grain fed to him is only to be about half of that 
which he has had when training, and was kept up to the 
trotting-mark. In this way the horse may be expected to 
winter well, and to renew, in a measure, the freshness and 
elasticity of youth. In my opinion, this system is much to 
be preferred to that often adopted of turning the horse out 
into a field, to endure the bitter blasts and intensely cold 
nights of a severe winter, with nothing but a hovel for 
shelter, and sometimes not that. Because training or the 
performance of difficult feats requires high feed, sweats, and 
some degree of artificial warmth, I can see no reason why 
the horse should be subjected to another violent extreme 
when let up. 

A horse turned loose to undergo this "freezing out," as it 
is called, is apt to be neglected as to feed as well; and, 
though he may escape any violent active disorder, he is 
liable to come up in the spring reduced in flesh, general 
health and vitality, much and permanently impaired in the 
wind, and worse off in every way than he would have been 
if treated according to the other system. Besides this, 
horses turned loose upon the frozen turf are apt to do more 
hurt to their legs than the treatment is at all likely to cure ; 
and I can see no advantage to be gained by the " freezing- 
out " plan, in any point of view. 

Another class of horses whose case must be considered 
embraces those whose legs are in such a state that blister- 
ing or firing has to be resorted to. These should be kept 
in the stable altogether during the active part of the treat- 
ment ; and their food should be of a light, cooling descrip- 
tion, consisting of mashes and carrots to a considerable 



THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 93 

extent, and without oats while the feverish, inflammatory 
symptoms prevail. Physic is not required, as a general 
rule ; but cases will arise in which a fevered and an inflam- 
matory condition may demand the use of a ball, or other 
light dose of medicine. When the immediate effects of the 
active treatment by the blister or firing are over, the horse 
may have a loose box and a lot outside the same, as is rec- 
ommended for those not fired or blistered. Care must be 
taken while the blister is on that the horse is securely tied ; 
for, if not, he may rub and even gnaw the part so as to 
injure the sinews under treatment. His food should be 
altogether soft, unless he has engagements in the spring. 
In that case, he must be given from four to six quarts of 
oats a day, according to his constitution and the existing 
state of his system. On the one hand, he must not be suf- 
fered to get flabby and washy by too much soft food when 
engaged ; and, on the other, care must be taken that he does 
not put on flesh and make much internal fat during this 
time of rest. If the former error is fallen into, he will be 
unable to stand the work of an early preparation, and will 
come to the post weakened and with poor wind. If the lat- 
ter mistake is made, and he is found loaded with too much 
flesh when taken in hand in the spring, he may be overdone 
in the getting of it off, and come up to trot in bad heart, 
sore all over, and deficient in speed. The feed of moderate 
quautities of oats, with mashes, hay, and some carrots, will 
commouly answer best. The horse will make flesh then, if 
he is in health and his stomach has recovered its tone ; but 
the superfluity resulting from this diet will be more easily 
got off than that produced by a higher allowance of strong 
food. There is plenty of room for the exercise of scimd 
judgment in this matter; and the discretion therein should 
not be left, as it too often is, to some well-meaning but in- 
experienced person, whose only plan is to give the horse all 
he will eat of all sorts of feed. 

It is my conviction that flesh can only be got off in the 



94 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

spring by slow degrees with safety. The physicking and 
sweating sometimes recommended, and often resorted to, are 
mischievous, in my opinion ; and I know that any thing like 
rapid work and hurry at the beginning, with a horse over- 
fed during the winter, and very likely infirm in his legs, 
will be apt to knock him off before he has got the use of 
them, or the muscles and sinews have recovered much of 
their tone. There is another way of wintering trotting- 
horses, which, having engagements in the spring, are to be 
prepared at an early period to fulfil them. When such a 
horse is found to be clean and strong upon his legs at the 
close of the season, and the trainer knows that he was then 
all right and in fine health and freshness, as well as in hard 
condition, an intermediate way of wintering may be wisely 
adopted. Instead of being driven on the road as was first 
mentioned, or turned into the loose box with run of the lot 
as was next described, the horse may be kept in the stable 
all the winter, which is to say in a loose box. His clothing 
is to be reduced to a thin sheet ; and the food, according to 
his constitution and heartiness, will be regulated pretty 
much like that of the one that runs in the box and lot. 
He may have soft food enough to cool him out, such as a 
few carrots every other day, and a bran-mash now and 
then. Large quantities of carrots are not to be given; 
and cars is to be taken that he has stout feed enough to 
keep h:s flesh firm and elastic. Exercise, every day that 
the weather will admit of, under saddle or by leading, is to 
be given ; and his coat may receive a nice little dressing 
once or twice a day. 

This horse being directly under the trainer's eye all the 
time, and treated with a view to his early preparation and 
trotting, will be kept much nearer the mark of condition 
than those before mentioned, and will be apt to take his 
work in the spring of the coming year with better pluck 
. and less risk than any of them. It remains to be added 
here, that horses turned out into the field should have a 



/ 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 95 

good feed of oats twice a day. Their exposure to the 
severity of the weather demands food calculated to keep 
up their animal heat, and compensate for the rapid waste 
which must be going on through the efforts of nature to 
supply adequate warmth. Yet it is too often the case that 
the horse gets no grain at all, and that the hay fed to him 
is of poor quality. Reduced vitality, and loss of strength, 
are sure to follow a course of modified starvation, and very 
frequently worms and the heaves are among the con- 
sequences which it entails. For these reasons, in addition 
to those before mentioned, the turning-out of horses used 
to good stabling, high feed, and warm clothing into the 
field, to rough it during the winter season, is to be avoided. 

With reference to the feeding of those either driven on 
the road, kept in the stable and exercised, or run in the box 
and lot, I repeat that the loading up with flesh and internal 
fat is to be guarded against. The constitution of the horse 
himself is to be the main guide of whoever may have him 
in charge, as to the amount of grain to be fed. If he is 
naturally washy and soft, and given to sweat easily and 
profusely, he should be kept on stronger feed and have 
fewer mashes and carrots than one of the opposite tendency. 
In all cases, however, the diet may be cool, and the bowels 
kept easy during this period of rest. The system of each 
horse must be studied and understood in order to profitable 
and proper treatment in this regard ; for the conclusion of 
every man of sense and experience touching it is, that there 
are hardly any two alike. 

As I have before remarked, the horse who is turned loose 
to run in a lot, with a box to go into when he is inclined to 
do so, will be altogether without clothes. The one that has 
been under treatment by blister or actual cautery will be 
better for a light blanket without a hood. And that kept 
in a loose box, and exercised upon the road or an exercise- 
ground, under saddle or in leading-reins, will require noth- 
ing but a thin sheet 



b6 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

In the spring, the shedding of the coat is rather a critical 
time with the horse ; and it is a bad practice to attempt to 
hurry this operation of nature. Many people are over- 
anxious to see their horses shed early ; and it is true, that 
to be backward in shedding is not a sign of a high state 
of health. But it does not follow that means shall be 
taken to loosen and remove the old coat before the constitu- 
tion is quite ready to renew it, and has, in fact, begun to 
do so. The hair should be suffered to come off naturally ; 
and as the lads in care of good horses are anxious to get 
rid of it early, so that they may present a fine appearance 
the sooner, it will be proper to see that they do not rub it 
off. Some people give boiled flaxseed or linseed-meal and 
the like to make their horses shed early ; but I am opposed 
to the practice, being convinced that it is dangerous and 
mischievous. This sort of poulticing inside opens the 
pores, starts the coat, and sets the horse to sweating before 
the season is sufficiently advanced to warrant it ; and the 
risk of coughs, and inflammation of the lungs, is thereby 
needlessly increased. The bran-mashes, by which the 
horse's bowels have been kept in regular order, may be 
adhered to, but the flaxseed and linseed should not be given. 
The tendency of them is to relax the system suddenly, 
and to cause the old hair to come away before the new coat 
is well started to take its place. 

As the weather gets bright and favorable, the horse's 
exercise may be increased under saddle, or in leading-reins, 
from two to four miles. The mettled, high-strung horse 
must have more of this walking than the others ; but they 
should all have enough to moderate their exuberant spirits 
at coming out, and to stop their dancing, capering, and 
setting their backs up at every thing they meet. This is 
not to be regarded as a part of the training proper ; but still 
it is necessary that it should be attended to, for in these 
walks the muscles are gradually getting their tone, and the 
horse is being thus prepared for the jogging with which his 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 97 

training really begins. We have all of us experienced how 
soon we get tired with walking, and how even standing up 
for a considerable time pains the muscles of the legs at 
first, after a season of repose and inactivity. This should 
convince us, that, after the rest the horse has had during the 
winter, the change to work should be gradual and slow at 
first. As soon as the horse has been thus prepared, and 
the roads and weather have become sufficiently favorable, 
he may be put in harness or to a wagon, and his jogging 
may begin. Whether he shall go in a sulky or to a wagon 
should depend upon his disposition, in a great measure ; but 
it will be also necessary to consider the nature of the 
engagements he is under in the early part of the coming 
season. The distance he is to be jogged must be according 
to his constitution and ability to perform without fatigue ; 
and of this the trainer must judge from what he knows of 
him, in reference to former experience, and what he 
observes as the horse goes from day to day. A good deal 
of caution is necessary at first ; for, until hardened a little by 
custom, the horse will be easily overdone, and a great deal 
of time will be lost solely by reason of having been in too 
great a hurry. No rule can be laid down for the amount 
of jogging the horse should have : it is a matter for the 
judgment of the trainer, in view of the nature of the 
animal being trained, and of the effect that it is observed 
to have on him as it is carried on. 

For the first week or ten days, there is to be no fast work 
at all ; but, at the expiration of that time, the muscles and 
tendons ought to be seasoned enough to justify the trainer 
in indulging the horse with slight spurts. In these he may 
be permitted to move along lively without over-taxing his 
powers or his wind. No rule can be given as to their 
length. The only thing to be said is, that they ought not 
to be very frequent and never long. The judgment of the 
trainer should enable him to determine how frequent they 
may be, and to what distance he may venture to send him 



98 TEE TROTTING-HOBSE OF AMERICA. 



without danger of overdoing the thing. It must he remem- 
bered, that, at this early stage ~of his preparation, the horse 
can hear very little compared with that which he will 
endure with ease, and which may he undertaken with im- 
punity, when his condition has hecome forward. It is a 
rule with some to administer physic hefore the work of the 
horse is commenced, hut I have never "been ahle to perceive 
the wisdom of such a course. It is to he supposed, that, if 
the horse has heen wintered well, the secretions will he 
moderately active, and the howels regular when the -time 
to commence work comes. In such a case, what necessity 
can there he for physicking? It may be apparent that 
some medicine is required to abate internal heat and humor, 
or it may happen that the horse is gross and fleshy from 
having been overfed while standing still. In such cases a 
mild dose of medicine may be given with advantage ; but, 
instead of administering it before the work is begun, I 
commonly prefer to jog for a few days, then let up, and give 
the medicine. The work, of course, is not to be resumed 
until the effects of the mild course have passed off; and then 
it is to be carried on with quite as much care as in those 
cases where there was no necessity for physic perceived. 



IX. 



Feed while Jogging. — Brushing in the Work. — Length of the Brush. — 

Advance of Condition to be noted. — The Feed. — The first Trial. 

Of the Sweats. — Feed and Clothing Afterwards. — Tight Bandaging 
bad. 

~VTT~HILE the jogging, the first part of the trotting- 
V V horse's preparation, is in progress, the strength of 
the feed may be increased, though not up to the extent that 
will be requisite when the work is made longer and sharper. 
He may have, during this first part of the preparation, 
from eight to ten quarts of oats a day, according to his 
capacity as a feeder, and the demands made by nature for 
supply of strong food under work. As the oats are in- 
creased, the horse will want less hay, but may still have all 
that he will eat up clean. After taking his feed of oats, 
he will not consume as much hay in general. But some 
horses are such gluttons that it is necessary to limit them 
as to hay, almost from the first. There are even some who 
will eat the straw of their bedding when they have had all 
the grain and hay that ought to be fed to them ; and, with 
these, it sometimes becomes necessary to put on the muzzle 
long before the time for the trial or the race. No carrots 
are now to be given, and I believe corn to be unnecessary 
and often mischievous. It is heating, and does not contain 
as much of the stuff that goes to make up hard flesh and 
elastic muscle as oats. There may be instances, however, 
in which a light feeder can be got to eat up his oats and a 
handful of corn as well, when the latter is mixed with 
them. In such a case it is well to give it j but in no case 

99 



100 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

should corn be used as a substitute for the allowance of oats 
tH horse in training ought to have. 

While the jogging and after-preparation are going on, a 
bran-mash now and then will be proper. Probably about 
once a week will be often enough, and not too often ; but 
this will be indicated by the condition of the horse's bowels 
and by his constitutional tendencies and requirements. If 
his bowels are relaxed, the use of the bran-mash is not 
apparent j and if he is of the light, washy order, never 
having much substance, and easily melting away when - put 
into sharp training-work, mashes are to be given more 
sparingly than with one of the opposite character. The 
trainer is never to relax his vigilance of observation, or let 
his judgment go to sleep and trust to arbitrary rules. 

After the week or ten days of moderate jogging, which 
has been directed to begin with, the muscles, tendons, and 
joints will have got some tone, and the wind have improved 
sufficiently to allow of the horse being sent along at half 
speed ; and he may be started up and moved at three-quar- 
ter speed for about half a mile. This brush of half a mile 
at three-quarter speed may be increased if the horse feels 
fine, wants to do all he knows, and improves under his 
work. The next step will be, as soon as you perceive that 
he stands up well to his work, comes out cheerfully, and 
takes it with a relish, to brush him along at speed for a 
quarter of a mile, or even for half a mile, according as the 
distance is indicated in the individual case. This brush will 
open his pipes, and, by making him blow, set the machinery 
in motion which is to give him wind and throw out the 
blood from the internal organs when he is called upon to 
make his extraordinary efforts in the race. He is not, as a 
matter of course, to be forced in pace up to the extreme 
that he may be capable of in a close brush with another 
horse, when the stakes are up and the heat hangs in the 
balance. Care is also to be taken that his natural ardor 
and willingness are not suffered to lead into difficulties. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 101 

High-strung, generous horses are apt to want t ) do more 
work and to do it faster than is good for them ; and this 
frequently misleads inexperienced persons, who seeing them 
all on fire to go, and never satisfied unless suffered to cut 
loose, imagine that it can do no harm to indulge them when 
they feel so fine. These are just the horses that require to 
be watched narrowly, and taken in hand; for their 
exuberant spirits and eagerness to perform are not often 
accompanied with the power to keep on and stand up under 
a severe preparation at such a rate. On the other hand, 
there are others lazily inclined, but requiring a great 
amount of work to make them fit. These are commonly 
able to bear as much as it is deemed necessary to give them 
and they must be wakened up from time to time, so as to 
make them get out of their sluggish habit and square 
away. 

As the training goes on, the improvement in the condi- 
tion of each horse is to be carefully watched and noted, so 
that the time when it will be safe and useful to give the 
first trial may be observed. Those that were in stable 
condition at the commencement of the preparation will be 
ready for this test before the ones that were turned out ; 
but no rule can be laid down as to the amount of work the 
horse ought to have before the trial may be ventured on. 
His condition as he appears while at work, and during and 
after his speedy brushes, is to be the guide by which the 
trainer's judgment in this matter must be directed. During 
the fast work, preparatory to the coming trial, the horse 
will have been put upon his largest allowance of strong 
food. Some will not eat more than eight or ten quarts 
of oats a day ; and it is necessary to be very vigilant and 
careful that these light feeders are not over-marked in 
work. Twelve or thirteen quarts is about what a good 
feeder ought to have. Some will ea t sixteen quarts of oats 
a day, but my belief is that three quarts of it does more 
harm than good. With such an extraordinary consump- 



102 TIIE TROTTIJVG-UORSE OF AMERICA 

tion of strong food, there must needs be an extraordinary 
amount of strong work done to keep the flesh down and get 
rid of these superfluities, inside and outside, which experi- 
ence has shown must be eliminated before the horse is 
capable of his best achievements. 3STow, if it were a mere 
question of bodily health and vigor, we might say, the more 
oats the horse eats the more work he can do with impunity, 
and the better his condition will be on the day of the race. 
But it is not a mere question of bodily health and vigor ; 
for the extra amount of work made necessary to get off the 
effects of the extravagant quantity of food consumed, and 
keep the horse only in proper flesh at the same time, 
imposes a terrible task upon the legs, which are commonly 
the first part of the machine to give out in horses whose 
work is fast and severe. This is a consideration which has 
made me averse to giving any horse in training more than 
thirteen quarts of good oats a day, unless there is some- 
thing peculiar in the animal and the circumstances of the 
case. 

During the preparation which precedes the first trial, it 
will be necessary to give the horse one or two sweats. 
Whether it ought to be one or two must be indicated by 
the condition and nature of the animal, the races in which 
he is engaged, and resolved by the judgment of the trainer. 
The amount of clothes in which he shall be sweated must 
be determined by the same considerations. Some may 
require a blanket and hood, and a wrapper round the neck 
to start the perspiration out of them ; while there are others 
that will sweat freely with but little clothes, and scrape 
well when more have been thrown on at the end of the jog. 
One thing may certainly be said, that a sweat obtained 
without the use of heavy clothing is more satisfactory and 
better than one with it, provided the latter method does not 
include a good deal more work to get the sweat. Only a 
moderate quantity of clothing and little work while the 
horse is going, are the best for a sweat, if a good scrape 



THE TR:TTING-H0RSE OF AMERICA. 103 

can thus be obtained. When the horse comes from the 
drive, and is taken out of the wagon, he will soon be ready- 
to scrape. That done, he must be blanketed up again, and 
walked about out of the draft. A favorable day for the 
sweat ought to be taken advantage of, as a matter of course. 
Another light scrape may probably be had after some little 
time spent in walking in the blankets ; but, if the perspira- 
tion does not continue so as to give this second scrape, it is 
not to be forced by more work in the clothes. To be of 
use in itself, and as a satisfactory indication that the con- 
dition of the horse is advanced, it must come of itself. 
During the time this sweating and scraping process is in 
course of operation, the trainer having the conduct of it 
should not be in a hurry. The same things that are said 
to cure a man's cold — patience and a little water-gruel — 
will often do wonders in procuring a good sweat. Com- 
monly, however, it is easy enough to get the sweat and 
scrape, but more difficult to cool the horse out properly. 
In order to do this well, he is to be clothed again, and led 
very gently about for a considerable period, so that he may 
become cool gradually, and the perspiration may dry away 
by degrees. This walking is to be out of all draft as much 
as possible ; and it will not do to hurry it over, and go to the 
stable, until the horse has cooled off well and gradually. 
When the proper state has been reached, the horse is to be 
taken into the stable, and his body is to be well dressed. 
This done, he is to be re-clothed, and again led into the air. 
A few sups of gruel, made of Indian meal or fine shorts, 
from half a pint to a pint of the meal stirred into a bucket 
of water, may now be given to the horse, or water with the 
chill taken off it may be used as a substitute for the gruel. 
When taken into the stable again, which will be after a 
little more walking about in the air, the legs are to be put 
in tubs of warm water, the body clothing being kept on. 
The legs are then to be well washed with the water and 
castile soap, and when dried off to be bandaged. These 



104 THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

bandages should be of light flannel, and it is immaterial 
whether it is red or white. They are not to be put on tight. 
The legs of a horse ought never to be bandaged tight, for 
such a course impedes the circulation into the feet, where 
there is a great necessity for it; but, losing sight of this, 
the bandages are sometimes pulled so that it looks as if 
they were intended to serve as a tourniquet, and stop the 
circulation of the blood altogether. Neither can it serve 
any useful purpose, that I can see, to bind the suspensory 
ligament up to the bone of the leg. Nature intended that 
in the horse it should stand out from it, as we see in the 
fine flat legs of the best runners and trotters. Whatever 
support is required may be obtained with only a moderate 
degree of tightness ; and I have sometimes thought that an 
elastic stocking, such as our best surgeons use in cases of 
bad strain to the nerves and muscles of the human foot 
and ankle, would be a very useful article in a training- 
stable. 

The difference between tight bandaging and elastic sup- 
port was brought very prominently to my notice not long 
ago. A lady seriously injured her foot and ankle by falling 
down stairs, when coming in a hurry to receive a friend. 
She was unable to walk for months, and finally could not 
bear the injured foot upon the floor ever so lightly. 
Treatment by various lotions and liniments was adopted, 
and tight bandaging was prescribed by the surgeons of the 
city where this accident happened. But the foot got no 
better ; and, fearing that permanent lameness might be the 
result, the lady came to New York, and was treated by 
Dr. Carnochan. He abolished the tight bandaging, 
substituted an elastic stocking made by a very clever 
mechanic, and insisted that the foot should be put down, 
and used a little every day without crutches. The result 
was a perfect cure, in an astonishingly short time. Had the 
numbing process by means of the tightened bandages been 
persevered with much longer, the use of the member would 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 105 

have been permanently lost, and the lady a cripple for life. 
This was a suggestive case to me. Tight bandaging of the 
legs of a horse is a very bad practice, and therefore you 
should see that they are properly put on and not drawn 
tight. 

When all is done, and the horse nicely cooled off, he may 
have a good scald mash, and less hay than on other occa- 
sions^ the night. On the morning of the day after the 
sweat the horse ought to feel limber, elastic, and buoyant 
in spirits. In his jogging, which must be of two or three 
miles, as you judge him to need, he may have a couple of 
brushes of a quarter of a mile each, at nearly or quite full 
speed, to open his pipes, and enable him to stretch himself. 
When horses have been well sweated, and have got well 
cooled out of it, they are full of alacrity and ardor, and feel 
like going fast with ease and pleasure to themselves. 
Therefore, the time is proper to put in these short and 
sweet brushes, during which the horse may be expected to 
go a little faster, without urging, than he has at any other 
time during his preparation. 



X. 



Work after the Sweat. — Trial after the Sweat. — Preparation for the Trial. 
— Amount of Work. — No arbitrary Rule possible. — The Mile-Trial. — 
Of Condition, Game, and Bottom. — Work after the First Race. — Prep- 
aration for Three-mile Heats. — Much slow Work reduces Speed. — 
Time of Three-mile Preparation. — Of the Trials. — Work after the 
Final Trial. 

AFTER, the horse has had the sweat, as before directed, 
the regular work is to be resumed and carried on as 
before, and the feed is to be the same as it was before the 
sweat. It will be well to bear in mind the object of the 
sweats, which is to loosen the flesh, and to remove the fat 
and other superfluities which add nothing to the horse's 
strength, impede his wind, and make so much more weight 
for him to carry in his training and in his races. On the 
other hand, the regular work is not to take away the sub- 
stance, but to increase the volume of muscle, harden its 
consistency, and increase its elasticity and strength. Thus 
the sweats merely reduce, while the regular work reduces 
the soft parts to some extent of itself, but builds up and 
develops the moving powers. It follows, that, when the 
horse in hand is of a weak and soft habit, great care must 
be taken that he is not sweated too much in clothes ; for, if 
he is, he will shrink in the course of work, and become thin 
and dry after one or two races. If the time of training 
could be extended, and there was no danger to the legs and 
constitution in making the work severe, the sweats might 
be dispensed with almost or quite altogether. But this is 
not the case ; and therefore the sweat in clothes is resorted 

106 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 107 

to in order to get rid of the superfluities more rapidly and 
with less risk to the legs than the regular work would do. 

Where the horse is of good constitution, but positively 
infirm in his legs, there must be more sweating in clothes 
and less work without them than in other cases. In five or 
six days after the sweat, the horse should be ready to stand 
a half-mile trial. Unless something has gone wrong, he 
ought to be fit to go that distance under the watch, and 
thus afford a certain indication as to his speed and advance 
toward racing condition. It will not be necessary to muz- 
zle him over night for this short trial, unless he is a rank 
feeder. His oats are not to be reduced in quantity ; and he 
may have his usual allowance of hay, unless he has been 
accustomed to eat a great deal. His morning feed before 
the trial may be a little less than usual, and the water re- 
duced to correspond. The half-mile trial being found sat- 
isfactory, the work will be carried on as before. Let him 
jog till he has emptied himself, then move him at three- 
quarter speed, with sharp and lively brushes to make him 
square away and get up to his best rate. The amount of 
work must be gauged by the judgment and skill of the 
trainer, in view of how the horse goes on and improves, and 
of his known breed and character. It is quite certain that 
the thoroughbred horse will improve under an amount of 
work that will overmark and utterly destroy the chance of 
almost any horse coarsely bred. Therefore, it is to be ex- 
pected that a well-bred trotter will take more work with 
advantage, provided his legs stand, than one of a poorer 
grade in blood. But, beyond this, it is found by experience 
that there is a great disparity in the capacity of horses of 
the same grade to stand work and improve in condition. 
No rule can be laid down beforehand by which it can be 
useful and safe to regulate the amount of work it will be 
proper to give. Until the horse has been trained, it is im- 
possible to say what he may bear, and what is required to 
bring him quite fit on the day that he is to trot for money. 



108 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA 

Therefore, the trainer must be vigilant as the work goes on 
from day to day ; and, if the slightest symptoms appear to 
indicate that the limit has been reached, the horse must be 
eased. Experience, judgment, and skill are imperatively 
demanded at this juncture ; and, where they do not exist in 
fair degree, it will be the best course to keep on the safe 
side, and be sure that the horse is well within himself. It 
is true that he may not be up to the keen edge of which he 
is susceptible ; but there is no remedy for this except at the 
risk of overdoing him altogether, which risk is great in such 
circumstances in any hands but those of a skilful and 
watchful trainer. It will not do to carry on until the horse 
is off his feed, dull in the eye, and his coat begins to stare, 
because the game is up when this is the case. The point 
at which his work ought to have been eased is passed, and 
it will take some time of nice handling and gentle work to 
get behind it once more. 

In five or six days, or a week after the first trial, the 
horse will be fit to be tried a mile, if he has been doing 
well. It being found that he is " all there," this will com- 
monly be sufficient for a mile race. Even if the race is 
two miles and repeat, it will sometimes be best to avoid 
further trial. It depends upon the condition and character 
of the horse and the state of his legs and feet. If he is 
known to be a stout one, and his legs are all right, another 
trial may be had prior to the two-mile race ; and in this the 
horse may be repeated. But if the speed is there, and the 
trainer is satisfied with the condition, it will be safest to 
take a good deal on trust rather than insist on its exhibition 
before the race. If the trainer knows his horse, he will 
have a safe rule to go by ; if he does not know him, he must 
rely, to a considerable extent, upon his own judgment ; for, 
when the horse is not known to be stout, there is all the 
more danger of giving him too much in the trials. The 
horse that is fit to trot mile-heats, three in five, in which 
the heats may be broken, is able to trot a two-mile race, so 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 109 

far as condition is concerned. Natural stoutness and game 
are demanded for long races. Now, without condition the 
horse cannot have " bottom/' which is simply capacity to 
endure. Without game, which is the pluck to try till the 
last chance is out, the bottom may exist to very little pur- 
pose. Therefore, though the horse cannot have the bottom 
without condition, he may have the condition without the 
bottom and its necessary concomitant — game. It follows, 
that the saying often heard, " condition makes bottom," is 
only true to a limited extent. It enables the game and nat- 
urally stout horse to make avail of all his bottom, and put 
forth his powers to the uttermost degree. Again, it is said 
speed makes bottom ; but this is next kin to nonsense. As 
long as there is nothing like equal speed against it, it en- 
ables the fast horse's driver to keep him well within himself, 
and thus to dispense with the bottom which, against another 
of nearly equal speed, would be necessary to save the heat. 
And speed is of very great importance in another point of 
view. It enables its possessor to go ahead, take which part 
of the course he pleases, and fret and worry the other horse. 
Very few horses have the courage and temper to go on be- 
hind at their best pace, and persevere to the end without 
breaking. Therefore, the horse of known bottom may act 
bad when he finds himself out-trotted from the score in a 
long race, and is urged all the way ; and if the driver pulls 
him together, the other may steal away and open such a gap 
that the closing of it at the end of the heat will be a terri- 
ble up-hill task, unless the other "comes back." Speed, 
then, may be an available substitute for bottom ; but it can- 
not be bottom itself in any sense. The slow horse in con- 
dition can keep at his best rate longer than the speedy 
horse can at his. Hence the old saying, " He can't go fast 
enough to tire himself." 

When the horse has appeared in his first race, showed 
the speed you might reasonably look for, and given evidence 
of satisfactory condition, he is not to be treated exactly as 



110 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. \ 

before in getting ready for the next. It is proper now to 
reduce his work ; for if he is kept at it, just as he was before 
his first engagement, he is almost certain to lose speed. 
The condition is about there, and what it lacks may be 
looked for to follow the means taken to increase the speed 
after the first race. The work is to be less in quantity, but 
with numerous short brushes and merry rallies, leaving the 
horse in good heart and high spirits, thinking well of him- 
self, and on good terms with his daily training-ground, the 
course. 

Should the race for which the horse is in preparation be 
three-mile heats, the work must be longer and not so sharp 
as for mile heats, three in five, and two-mile-heats. The 
lasting qualities are to be developed by more jogging, and 
not so many spurts of speed in comparison. Still, the work 
is not to be so slow and monotonous and extended as to take 
speed away. Many a race is won by a good brush on the 
stretch, which would have been lost if the speed had been 
dogged out with a great deal of walking and slow jogging. 
I have found it so often the case that a large amount of 
slow work has knocked off the speed, that I deem one of 
them incompatible with the other, and look upon this as an 
established principle. Therefore, there are to be lively 
spurts from time to time, when the preparation is for three- 
mile heats, and the jogging is not to be carried on so as to 
take out the heart and inclination of the horse for these 
spurts. To produce the horse full of staying condition, and 
with all his speed, is the proper aim of the training art. To 
have him capable of going on for a long while, but deficient 
of his known rate of speed, is not art; and to have him 
speedy for a little way, but unable to stay the distance 
which he is known to be able to endure, is not art either. 

For the three-mile race a longer time will be taken in 
training than for one of mile-heats, three in five, unless a 
shorter engagement has intervened ; and, when the horse is 
brought to the post for the long race, he ought to be as near 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. Ill 

the pitch of condition as art can get him. About three 
weeks before the race is to come off, he may have his first 
trial, which will be a mile. Half-mile trials are to be dis- 
pensed with here ; for the object was to get the three-mile 
distance "into the horse/' and a performance of half a mile 
would afford no useful indication. It would only tell that 
he had certain speed. 

The mile trial having been satisfactory, the work is to go 
on ; and in ten days more, or thereabout, the horse will be fit 
for his final trial. In getting ready for this, his hay and 
water over night may be somewhat reduced, and the muzzle 
is to be put on. The full allowance of oats is to be given. 
At the actual trial, commence with a mile at good speed. 
At the end of it, blanket up and scrape, and walk about for 
thirty-five minutes. Then repeat two miles out. If in this 
the horse does well, shows speed and freshness, and finishes 
with go in him, you may be pretty well satisfied that he is 
in good condition and capable of making his race. A fur- 
ther trial is unnecessary, and would be likely to result in 
mischief. 

The trials are never to be as long as the race for which 
the horse is being trained. In the three-mile preparation 
there will be walking exercise, probably five or six miles a 
day, and three or four of driving, with spurts of speed 
therein ; but, as I said before, no rule can be laid down 
for the actual amount of work; that must depend upon 
the horse. I mention the above as a probable amount, be- 
cause it is not likely that a horse unable to stand up 
under something like it will be matched three-mile heats. 
If he is, his owner may look to lose, unless the other is infe- 
rior in speed and of the same kidney. From the time of 
the final trial to the race, the work should be the same as it 
was before, unless the wisdom of a change was indicated by 
what took place in the trial. If in that performance the 
horse showed plenty of speed, but pulled up distressed at 
the end of the two miles of repeat, it would be an evidence 



112 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

that lie is not up to the mark in condition, and the work 
should be increased. In any case, it will he of great im* 
portance to have the wind clear for the race, and four or five 
days prior to that event the horse should have a light 
sweat. A jog with hood and wrapper, so as to get a nice 
scrape, is all that will be required, the cooling-out to be as 
before directed. All through the preparation, if .the race is 
to be in harness, it will be advisable to change the sulky 
for a skeleton wagon occasionally, so as to get the weight 
off the back. If the race is to be to a wagon, the horse is 
not to be worked in a sulky at all. 



XL 

Stout Horses stand a strctg Preparation. — State of the Legs to be watched. 
— Idlewild and Lady Palmer. — No Device a Substitute for Work. — 
Ten-mile Preparation. — A steady rating Capacity wanted. — The Prep- 
aration to be Long. — The Feed to be Strong. — Effects of the Work 
to be watched. — The Trials. — Management of the Race. — The Paces 
of Kentucky Prince and Hero the Pacer. 

IT will have been gathered from what I have said, that, 
even when good condition has been attained, there will 
still be a great difference in the performance of horses as 
soon as the distance they are required to go is long ; and 
that, in getting a whole stable of horses into fix to trot 
races, there will seldom be two whose treatment during 
their preparation ought to be the same. The natural game 
and stout horse will stand a stronger preparation, and may- 
be relied on for a greater performance than another will 
ever be capable of, with all the aid that the trainer can 
give him, provided the legs of the former stand. There is 
a small class of trotting-horses, and of thoroughbred run- 
ning-horses, too, who require an immense amount of work 
to get them fit to do their best, and who cannot be relied on 
to do any thing like their best without it. The training of 
these, seeing that they can hardly have too much work, 
judiciously given, for their constitution, would be much 
simplified, if it were not for the danger that their legs and 
feet may give out, while their appetite and general health 
remain good. In preparing them the state of the legs must 
be particularly watched; and if any weak or inflammatory 
symptoms manifest themselves under the severe work which 
is necessary to bring them to the wiry condition in which 
8 113 



114 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

they will do their "best, the sweats must be more relied on 
to reduce their superfluities than the strong work they 
would otherwise demand and might have with entire 
safety. 

If the legs of these horses stand, so that with the ordi- 
nary amount of sweats and the extraordinary amount of 
work they can he brought to their best condition, they 
may be relied on to last : they will trot all day and the 
next day too. But when the danger to the legs has been 
such that it was necessary to give many and heavy sweats, 
and only an ordinary amount of work, there is always some 
chance that they may cut up soft, for them. There is still 
the condition, so far as the absence of internal and external 
fat and other gross superfluities is concerned ; but the mus- 
cular system has not had the great amount of work to give 
it tone and power to endure, which their particular hardy 
and high-strung organizations, and the extraordinary tasks 
they are called on to perform, above all others, require. 
There have been two notable instances of this about here, — 
one of them a thoroughbred runner; the other thorough- 
bred also, but a trotter ; and both mares. The first-men- 
tioned, Idlewild, required a vast amount of hard drilling to 
make her fit ; and it was not safe to bring her to the post 
against a good horse without it, although her speed was 
something wonderful. The other is Lady Palmer, Mr. 
Bonner's chestnut mare by Glencoe, and therefore a sort of 
aunt to Idlewild, whose dam was by Glencoe. In spite of 
excellent bodily condition, apparently, it would not do to rely 
upon this mare to make one of the extraordinary perform- 
ances of which she is known to be capable, unless she had 
had a great amount of severe work in the attaining of it. The 
wind in her and Idlewild might be good enough — though 
it would be more likely not to be good without the hard 
drilling ; for what is called " good wind " depends largely 
upon the muscular action of the heart — and still, for want 
of sufficient work to build up and give lasting tone to the 



TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 115 

wiry, harp-string powers, there might be a failure to come 
tip to expectation in a really great task. 

Hence we see where the sweating in clothes would fail to 
make these horses fit, though they might be in " bodily con- 
dition ; " and thus the futility of substituting the Turkish 
bath, or any thing of that kind, for natural work in the 
training of horses, may easily be perceived. As a rule, 
the best horses take the most work, for two reasons. One 
is, that they do not part with their hard flesh half as easily 
as those do who are naturally soft and more vascular. The 
other is, that the great performances for which these horses 
are likely to be called upon can never be expected until the 
moving powers have been well-seasoned, and have come to 
possess their lasting tone. I am assured, that, when the flat- 
race trainers first began to fit horses for steeple-chase run- 
ning in England, they were amazed to find that they gave 
out suddenly, dead beat, when they would have sworn that 
their condition was good. They soon found that the failure 
was a consequence of want of work for the jumping powers. 
They had only been worked over the flat ; and, though their 
bodily condition was as fine as could be, there was a want 
of power in the muscles which send the horse up and for- 
ward in taking leaps. That power they soon learned could 
only be gained by leaping-practice in the training. Thus 
it will be perceived that custom, as long as the constitu- 
tional health and the legs remain sound, is the great agent 
in fitting all sorts of animals for the performance of extra- 
ordinary feats. It is said that Milo of Crete could carry 
an ox, but it was one that he had carried every day after it 
was a calf. All that time he had been " in training ; " and 
as training without any let-up for a long period must ex- 
haust the sources of vitality, and impair the constitution 
prematurely, it is very likely that Milo died before the 
ox did. 

In the preparation for a ten-mile race, there must be an 
increase of work even over that indicated for the three-mile 



116 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

heat engagement. A great burst of speed is not to be 
looked for anywhere in a race of ten miles ; but victory is to 
be expected more from a steady rating-trot, which can be 
taken up at the beginning and maintained to the end. In 
nineteen cases out of twenty, this will cut down the oppos- 
ing horse in a race of this length, even when his speed is 
greatly superior, unless he has been taught to keep this 
even rate in his preparation. If this tuition has not been 
j/iven, he will either make bursts above the distance-rate 
every now and then, or he will pull and fight at his driver 
in his efforts to do so. In either case, the rating-horse has 
got him, provided his driver keeps ^jip the rate, and does not 
let the other have a chance to recuperate when he begins 
to tire. 

Of course, no horse who is not naturally stout and well 
on his legs ought to be matched and trained for a race of 
ten miles. This being found to be the case, the work must 
be given like that for the three-mile heats, but larger in 
amount. Thus, on two days in a week, make it a fourth 
longer, and on other days an eighth longer. At the same time 
that care is to be taken not to dog and worry the speed out, 
there is no occasion for the ripping spurts which intervene 
in the other training : the horse is only to have enough of 
them to keep him cheerful and lively, and to vary the par- 
tial monotony of the steady work. This preparation will 
be greater in length than any of the others, for a horse is 
not to be got up to the ten-mile mark at a good rate in a 
few weeks. While he is undergoing it, he may have all the 
grain he will eat, even if it is fourteen or fifteen quarts ; 
but you must see that he eats all up and keeps the manger 
clean. Long and strong work demands strong feed and 
plenty of it. A horse may do a long day's work now and 
then in stable-condition, but this is as nothing to being 
called upon to do a large amount pretty rapidly every day. 
The strong feed and strong work, as I said in a former part 
of this work, are dangerous to infirm legs ; but a horse to go 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 117 

ten miles should "be one of well-tried strength in this :jar- 
ticular. Therefore the strong work and all the oats he 
will eat may be ventured "on in his preparation for this 
distance. 

In the course of it, before his first trial, it will probably 
have been deemed necessary to give him a couple of sweats • 
and, after he is well over them, his work may often be 
increased with advantage. But vigilance is to be exercised 
all along to see that the point at which the work begins to 
be too severe is not reached. The trainer's judgment as to 
the effect the increased work has upon the constitutional 
health and legs is all in all here. He will still have a guide, 
— the horse's known habit and breed ; but it will not do to 
trust to these .alone. That would be like steering by the 
stars at sea, to the neglect of the compass. Now, the stars, 
as seen by the helmsman, will give a general indication of 
the course, but not the exact course by compass. And so 
the habit and breed will furnish general probabilities, but 
not the particular niceties to be arrived at by carefully 
observing the effect of the increased work from day to day. 
The horse will not feel any the worse, in all probability, 
after the first day or the second ; but, as it goes on, the like- 
lihood of overmarking him is increased. Five weeks before 
the race the ten-mile horse may have his first trial, which 
will be two miles, at two-thirds speed. A scrape may be 
taken ; and the horse will be cooled out in conformity with 
the directions before given, by slow walking in clothes in 
the air, but out of a draught of wind. 

In ten or twelve days after the first trial, he ought to be 
ready to go two miles and repeat. Let him go the first 
two miles at two-thirds speed. Then blanket and scrape, 
and walk about for twenty-five minutes. In the second 
two miles he may go his best ; that is, his best rate for two 
miles. Then clothe him well and get another nice scrape. 
Supposing the horse to have done well all along, he will 
now be near fine staying condition. Let the work be 



118 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

carried on according to your best judgment, from what you^ 
observed in tbe last two miles of the repeat, how he finished 
it and behaved afterwards. Ten days before his race ho 
will be ready for his final trial, five miles out. Prom his 
performance of that, and its effect on him, the trainer ought 
to be able to form a definite judgment as to his condition j 
and here condition is as absolute a necessity as stoutness. 
The most skilful and experienced man may be deceived as 
to the stoutness of a horse in a ten-mile race, when he has 
not proved it by going one ; but the trainer ought not to be 
mistaken in his condition. 

Upon the judgment to be formed now, the tactics to be 
adopted in the race will mainly depend. If the horse is 
known to be a stout one, and his condition is as good as can 
be, the policy will be to go along at a good rate, not caring 
if the other goes faster at first, but to keep up at that rate, 
or thereabouts, and force the other to keep at it too, when 
he would rather slacken up a little. By this means any 
extra speed your opponent may have had at the start will 
have disappeared long before the finish. You will have got 
him down to your speed, and have your extra stoutness to 
win with. It is to be remembered that the speed of a 
speedy horse diminishes very rapidly when he begins to 
tire ; and that keeping him going at a steady rate for a 
great distance, even though it is much slower than his best 
rate, tries his stoutness. If there is a soft place in him, 
"this plan is much more likely to find it out than any other. 
If he could go part of the way fast, and another part a 
moderate jog only, he would be apt to recuperate, and 
recover speed for the finish; but when the rating-horse 
follows steadily, mile after mile, as sure to come to time as 
a clock, the other is not able to make his own pace, except 
it be a moderately fast pace all the way, and this is sure to 
cut down his speed. Speed can only be made an available 
substitute for bottom in races of moderate length. Ten 
miles is toe far for it. 



THE TBOTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 119 

In the year 1853, the horse Kentucky Prince was 
matched in two ten-mile races against Hero the pacer, in 
harness, and placed in my hands by Mr. E. Ten Broeck to 
be prepared. Prince was a chestnut with one white heel, 
and very nearly thoroughbred if not quite. He was by 
Woodpecker out of a mare by imp. Sarpedon ; which horse 
also got Alice Carneal, the dam of Lexington and the mare 
that was the dam of Lady Palmer. Prince showed his 
breeding in every point but his lop ears, in which he was 
like the Melbournes in England. He took his work well, 
and a great amount of it. The first race came off on the 
Centreville Course on the 1st of November. It was for 
$5,000 a side, in harness, drivers to weigh 165 pounds. Mr. 
Joseph Hall matched Hero, and Spicer drove him. Prior 
to the start, Mr. Ten Broeck, who was then and still is a 
very good judge in such matters, advised me to trail, and 
let Hero make his own pace until the end of the seventh 
mile, believing that the last three miles would do to cut 
down Hero's speed. But I replied, that his speed was very 
great, he having gone a mile in 2.18^, and that it would be 
better to take the starch out of him to a considerable 
extent earlier in the race. I did not then suppose that he 
would make the pace quite as good as he did from the start ; 
but I was convinced, that, if he did so, it would be my best 
policy to keep it good. Mr. Ten Broeck, however, adhered 
to his opinion ; and, at starting, I set out to conform to it. 
The. pacer took the lead, and made the first mile in 2.44. 
The next was still better, 2.36 ; and the third, 2.331. This 
was pretty hot for the distance we had to go, and I lay well 
behind.- In the last quarter of the third mile, I saw indi- 
cations that the pacer was going to slacken his speed; and I 
felt like pulling out and making him keep it up, or there- 
abouts, for fear that I should slip by and take the track. 
If I merely lay in his wake for four miles, he could go as 
slow as he pleased, and have three- miles of fast work in for 
the end. Half way up the stretch stood Mr. McMann, a 



120 THE TROTTINQ-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

great friend of Mr. Ten Broeck's. He had a deal of 
money bet, and so had I. As I got abreast of him I said, 
" I shan't win if I stay here." " Then go oh," he replied ; 
and, pulling out, I went on as though going to try for the 
lead. This compelled Hero to keep the pace good. The 
fourth mile was done in 2.39, and the fifth in 2.37. Five 
miles in 13.09^. The sixth mile was 2.46 ; and now it became 
clear enough to me that Hero was tiring, and the race safe. 
It will be remembered, that, in the early part of thi3 
work, I remarked that the pace was a much more laborious 
gait than a trot, for a long distance. It results, that, when A 
pacer begins to tire in the legs, he gives out, and goes 
altogether unless he gets rested. Hero had had no ease, and 
in the early part of the seventh mile he was beaten. The 
rating for six miles, though nothing like his highest speed 
for one mile, had "cooked his bacon," to use a common 
expression. I took the lead, and jogged round this mile in 
5.08 1-2, the next in 6.16, and the ninth in 6.19. The last 
mile I drove in 2.39. Hero had been stopped in the 
seventh mile. Mr. Ten Broeck had money laid that Prince 
would trot the tenth mile in three minutes ; and, when I 
started the horse up to win it, he felt so well that he went 
much faster than I supposed him to be going. If the pacer 
had been suffered to slack up when he began to get a little 
tired, he might not have got so completely tired as to go 
all to pieces. Ten days afterwards we went a race of the 
same kind on the Union Course, for $5,000 a side. This 
was play or pay, and had been made before the other race took 
place. I took the lead in this, Hero making it a waiting 
race from the start. The first mile was 3.01, the second 
2.52, the third 2.49, the fourth 2.45 1-2, the fifth 2.41, the 
sixth 2.46 1-2, the seventh 2.38 1-2, the eighth 2.42 1-2, 
the ninth 2.40, the tenth 3.12 1-2. Hero quit in this mile. 
The total time of this was 28 m. 08 l-2s., and Prince won 
it easy. Hero made a good race too ; for the nine miles in 
less than twenty -five minutes showed good rating, and great 
power of lasting at the pacing-gait. 



XII. 

Early Reminiscences. — My first Race. — My Second. — Lady Kate against 
Time. — Paul Pry against Time. — The Riders of Thirty Years Ago. — 
Requisites of a Good Rider. — Drilling Horses. — Lady Sefton. 

BEFORE we proceed much farther, I purpose, in answer 
to letters which I have received, to say a little about 
the commencement of my career among horses, and some of 
those events in which I then participated. The writers 
have been good enough to say that they think some of my 
personal reminiscences and recollections of the horses of old 
times will be of great interest and some use. The first 
race for money in which I was engaged took place thirty- 
four years ago, and I was then fourteen years old. It was 
at Philadelphia in 1831 ; I being then with my uncle, the 
trainer, George Woodruff, at the Hunting-park Course. 
We had Topgallant, Columbus, and a number of other 
trotters in the stable. The course used to be a favorite re- 
sort of such gentlemen as Gen. Cadwallader ; Mr. William 
Eetterall, who owned Daniel D. Tompkins ; Mr. Jeffries, 
who afterwards owned Dutchman; and the like. These 
gentlemen were always anxious to see a little sport ; and one 
day they got up a small purse, to be trotted for under sad- 
dle by any horses that we boys could pick up. I started 
off from where they were all assembled, and took a horse 
out of the plough in a neighboring field. It was Shaking 
Quaker, who had belonged on Long Island prior to that 
time, and could go a little. Opposed to me, there were 
Peter Whelan and James Hamill, both of whom had got 
noises taken promiscuously out of some of the vehicles on 

121 



122 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AilEBICA. 

the course. We started ; and I won it with ease in two 
heats, the best being 2.57. 

I very soon had another mount, and this was of more im- 
portance. Mr. Frank Duffy had at that time a little mare 
called Lady Kate, that was a good goer. He had gone 
from Philadelphia to Baltimore, and matched her against 
time to trot fifteen miles within the hour. This Lady Kate 
was a handsome little thing, about Flora Temple's size, and 
a good deal like her in appearance. She was good under 
saddle ; and the notion prevailed that Mr. Duffy was going 
to ride her himself. But this was a slight mistake on the 
part of the backers of Time. The match had been made 
catch-weight, and Mr. Duffy came on for me and another to 
ride her. He was very much afraid that one of us would 
not be able to ride the distance out, and do justice to little 
Lady Kate. It was on the Central Course, Baltimore ; and 
Mr. Duffy, with the mare's bridle thrown over his arm and 
a big saddle on her, was a sight to see, as he led her up and 
down, and took all the bets that were offered on time. But 
the backers of the " old devourer " saw another sight prior 
to the start ; for, just when they had expected Mr. Duffy to 
mount, I stepped " out of the woods," with a little saddle 
all ready, and changed it for the heavy one that was on 
her. 

There was a terrible time among those who had laid 
against Lady Kate ; but they could not deny the fairness of 
the strategy that had been practised to get bets, and so I 
mounted without objection. The little mare and I got the 
word, and away we went as well as could be. On the back- 
stretch in the eighth mile, Mr. Duffy asked me if I could 
ride it out without tiring ; to which my reply was, that I 
could ride the little mare the fifteen miles within the hour, 
and a little more to boot. I was just as easy as I had been 
from the start, and she was going along in the prettiest 
winning manner. The other boy's friends, however, were 
very anxious that he should have a share of the riding ; and 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 123 

so, at the request of his father, who had come on from 
Philadelphia with him, I got off at the end of eight and 
three-quarter miles. At the end of the twelfth mile, money 
was laid that the mare would do sixteen miles within the hour, 
and she accomplished it with great ease. The sixteenth 
mile was made in 3m. 10s., and she had three minutes and 
nineteen seconds to spare out of the hour. She could have 
gone eighteen miles in the hour just as well as not. The 
race took place ahout four weeks after the one in which I 
rode Shaking Quaker from the plough ; and, if I had not rid- 
den that, I do not think I should have heen selected to ride 
Lady Kate. I shall now describe a big time-race ; which is 
all the more interesting because it was done by a grandson 
of the imp. horse Messenger, who was gray like himself, 
and had most of the prominent characteristics of that cel- 
ebrated breed. I think it of the more importance because 
of the theory now started by some, that a cross to the 
thoroughbred stallion is not the way to breed trotters. It 
has not been the way up to this time, except in the case of 
those got by this thoroughbred horse Messenger in this 
country, and by his sire, Lord Grosvenor's gray horse Mam- 
brino, in England. I do not mean to commit myself, just 
here, to any theory of breeding ; but will point out the in- 
disputable facts, that here was a thoroughbred stallion that 
got trotters of true action and bottom to stay all day, and 
that his sire had got plenty of them before him, they both 
being trained and successful runnin g-hovses. 

Now let us pass to the race and its preliminary history. 
It was in 1833, when my father kept the Harlem-park 
Course, at its first opening, that a Scotch gentleman named 
McLeod owned a gray gelding called Paul Pry. This 
horse was about twelve years old, sixteen hands high, coarse, 
and raw-boned, but with a blood-like head and neck, and all 
the points good, though very plain. He was a flea-bitten 
gray, and was thought to have been got by imp. Messen- 
ger himself. But this was not possible, as Messenger died 



124 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

in 1808 ; and the truth no doubt was, that Paul Pry was 
either by on 3 of Messenger's sons or out of one of his 
daughters. This gray gelding belonging to Mr. McLeod 
was matched about this time for $250 a side to trot sixteen 
miles within the hour, and then $250 more a side for every 
quarter of a mile from sixteen up to seventeen miles and 
three-quarters. Thus the whole amount at stake was 
$2,000 a side. Paul Pry was trained for this performance 
on the Harlem-park Course, under the management of Mr. 
William Niblo. I gave him his work under saddle. He 
had it all that way of going, for he pulled so hard in har- 
ness as to make any work that way unadvisable. The 
training lasted from seven weeks to two months ; and, after 
having got him into shape, we felt confident that he would 
win all the money up. His even rate and staying qualities 
were what we depended upon ; for Paul Pry was at no time 
a horse of brushing speed, and for this match he had been 
trained to get the distance into him, rather than develop 
his speed. He could not go better than 2.45 or 2.46 to a 
mile ; but, what he could do, he could keep on doing for a 
long time when up to the mark in condition. 

The trot came off on the Union Course on the 8th of 
November. I rode the horse, and rode him all the way. 
He won it easily. At the end of the seventeen miles and 
three-quarters I jogged him another quarter, making 
eighteen miles ; and he had a minute and some five or six 
seconds to spare out of his hour. I am persuaded that I 
could have ridden twenty miles within the hour if it had 
been needed. At the end of his fourteenth mile, up to 
which the horse had been going very easily and evenly, and 
not pulling at all, a gentleman struck in to keep me com- 
pany. But Paul Pry was immediately on his mettle ; and I 
was compelled to beckon the gentleman to keep back when 
he was at least one hundred and fifty yards behind me. 
Seeing that he finished his eighteen miles fresh, and that 
at the end of tht fourteenth he would not let another come 



THE TROTTWG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 125 

within a hundred and fifty yards of him, I have reason to 
think that he could have trotted twenty miles within the 
hour. But Paul Pry was better in a race against time than 
in one with another horse ; for, when he had company, he 
would pull desperately, and fight with his rider or driver. 

There are not many riders nowadays that a man would 
like to rely upon to ride eighteen or twenty miles in an 
hour, the horse to trot. At the time I speak of we had a 
number that could ride trotters sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, 
nineteen, and even twenty miles within the hour. We 
had some that would have been backed to do much better 
than that. George Spicer offered a bet that he would ride 
one hundred miles on trotting-horses in five hours' time 
and,- Jack Harrison offered to back me to do the like. 
Nearly all the trotting at that time was done under saddle. 
Consequently, we had fine saddle-horses, and a great num- 
ber of good hardy riders, who could maintain their clip 
with the knees and thighs, and give their horses all the 
support they needed with their hands. The number of men 
among us that can now ride a fast trotter twenty miles an 
hour is not large. It is to be regretted, I think, that the 
saddle-work and use of trotters in that way fell so nearly 
altogether into disuse. It is very fine to see a lot of good 
trotters go away under saddle in the hands of competent 
riders, and make a fast race. The young men and lads now 
have but little chance to learn the art of riding the trotting- 
horse strong and well, for they have next to no practice. 
As those who were brought up in the old school got too 
heavy for the business, there were no others coming up to 
supply their place ; so that it would be difficult, at this day, 
to get three or four competent riders of trotting-horses 
together. It requires a combination of qualities. The 
rider must have good judgment ; he must be very strong 
and lasting, or else there will be danger of his giving out, 
and, when he does so, the best horse in the world would be 
likely to follow suit. 



126 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

When Ca.pt. Moore offered to put Idlewild into a stake 
against George Wilkes, Lady Emma, Gen. Butler, or any 
other trotters that might choose to enter, the old mare 
to go four miles while the trotters or any one of them went 
three, he relied upon the notion that riders of the right 
weight could not be found to ride the trotters. In England 
they formerly had an idea that weight made but little 
difference to a trotter, and that a light-weight was not 
calculated for the trotting action. Thus it will be found, 
that, in many of the old English trotting-matches, the 
horses carried as much as 168 pounds, even when they were 
made catch-weight. This was never our opinion in America, 
as the doings at Baltimore with Lady Kate showed; but 
there was this truth about the notion — it was better to 
carry the weight with a good rider that could last all the 
way, than to put up a light boy who could do nothing after 
the first two or three miles but just sit on the horse. 

The trotting-horse, to do his work well under saddle, has 
got to be extended so as to go with ease to himself and 
without danger of breaks. A very considerable pull is often 
required ; and some of those which are not " pullers," in the 
language of horsemen, would be thought by an amateur to 
have a great deal of weight on the bit by the time they had 
gone two miles. They are seldom to be found without a 
disposition to pull somewhere in the race ; and, with a very 
light boy on the back of them, it would probably be all over 
then. I find, in looking back at an old English book with 
which I sometimes amuse myself, that, when B-obson's 
mare trotted seventeen miles in fifty-three minutes, she was 
ridden by a boy out of the racing-stables, who could ride a 
trotter, and only weighed about seventy pounds. Now, this 
mare could not have been a puller, and in that particular, 
with ability to go a distance, it would be hard to find one 
like her. Still I venture to say that it would be easier to 
find such a mare than such a boy. I was light when I rode 
Lady Kate and Paul Pry, but not so light as that by a great 



TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 127 

deal. I have said that Paul Pry did not pull in the 
eighteen-mile race except when the gentleman struck in to 
keep us company and excited him. That means, that he 
did not pull so as to distress himself or tire me. He always 
went up to the hit. In harness, he would pull a man out 
of the sulky, whether there was company hy him or not. 
Two years before I rode him the time-race, he went 
against Lady Seyton, three-mile heats in harness. The 
Lady was the queen of the trotters of that day. She was 
a chestnut, about fifteen hands two inches high, and blood- 
like in appearance. My father had her in charge, and I 
took care of her. Joel Conkling drove, and Matt Clintock 
drove Paul Pry. The race was over the Centreville. When 
they started, the gray settled down upon Matt's arms, and 
pulled about a ton. Lady Seyton went on, and distanced 
him the first heat in 8m. lis. That was the first time it 
was ever made in harness, and the mare was the best of her 
day. 



xm. 

Messenger's Son, Topgallant. — His wonderful Endurance. — My Uncle, 
George Woodruff. — Topgallant's Eace when Twenty-two Years Old.— 
His Eace when Twenty-four Years Old. — Three-mile Heats. — His Eace 
of Three-mile Heats the next Week. 

I SHALL now proceed to say something about one of the 
most remarkable trotting horses that this country ever 
produced. He was in fact, in some respects, the most 
extraordinary trotter that ever came under my observation. 
In the capital points of longevity and endurance, I never 
knew quite his equal, all things taken into account. When 
I say longevity, I mean length of days while serviceable as 
a trotter, and able to meet and beat, very often, the best of 
his time. I do not mean vegetating about, half dead at the 
root and rotten at the trunk, as many of the horses spoken 
of for their longevity have been. It will be remembered 
that in the early part of this work, while speaking of the 
bestmethod to be adopted in the raising of colts and the 
treatment of young horses, I declared my conviction, that, to 
a certain extent, early maturity and early hard work iD 
training and racing were nearly always followed by pre- 
mature decay. I have also spoken of the iron constitutions 
and uncommon durability in point of time, as well as endur- 
ance in going a distance by reason of natural stoutness, 
which were inherited in a remarkable degree by most of 
those closely descended from the famous horse imported 
Messenger. That horse I never saw, for he died about 
seven years before I was bom ; but, with one of his best 
sons I had no little acquaintance. 

128 



THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 129 

I speak of old Topgallant, one of the best and stoutest 
that ever looked through a bridle. It will soon be forty 
years since I first rode the horse at his exercise ; and, after 
he began his racing-career and went into my uncle's hands, 
we had many a long day together. As I have said, Top- 
gallant was a son of imp. Messenger. He was a dark bay 
horse, fifteen hands three inches high, plain and raw-boned, 
but with rather a fine head and neck, and an eye expressive 
of much courage. He was spavined in both hind-legs, and 
his tail was slim at the root. His spirit was very high ; 
and yet he was so reliable that he would hardly ever break, 
and his bottom was of the finest and toughest quality. He 
was live-oak as well as hickory, for the best of his races 
were made after he was twenty years old. Topgallant 
was raised on Long Island. He was more than fourteen 
years of age before he was known at all as a trotter, except 
that he could go a distance — the whole length of the New- 
York road — as well as any horse that had ever been extend- 
ed on it. Topgallant then belonged to a gentleman named 
Green ; and Mr. M. D. Green, who now resides in the city 
and is well known, must be acquainted with many particu- 
lars about the horse. After a time, when he was well 
stricken in years, Topgallant was taken to Philadelphia, 
where he was engaged in many races. It was prior to this 
when I used first to ride him for exercise. 

In the year 1829, when in his twenty-second year, Top- 
gallant trotted four-mile heats against Whalebone, over 
the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia; and there were 
four heats before it was decided. Like Topgallant, 
Whalebone was a New- York horse. Prior to that time he 
had been owned by Capt. Dunn, one of the partners of 
the firm of Brown & Dunn, livery-stable keepers.' Whale- 
bone was a remarkably handsome horse, — a fine blood bay, 
sixteen hands three inches high, and he had but one eye. 
He ought to have been called Waxy, instead of Whale- 
bone ; for in all these particulars he resembled the famous 



130 THE TROTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 

English thoroughbred of that name, who was the son of 
Pot-8-os, and the sire of Whalebone, Whisker, Woful, 
Web, W T ire, etc. Of his pedigree nothing was known. 
He looked like a thoroughbred horse, and was one of the 
most splendid geldings I ever saw. At the time of the 
race, Whalebone belonged to Mr. Coddle of Philadelphia, 
and George Spicer rode him. 

Topgallant was trained and ridden by my uncle, George 
Woodruff, who was then a young man. He was then five 
feet ten inches high, and one hundred and forty-seven 
pounds in weight. A finer rider of a trotting-horse was 
never seen. He was straight, spare, and sinewy, very 
strong and lasting. He is still the same upright, spare, 
sinewy man, and as spry as ever with a horse, though more 
than sixty years of age. Topgallant won the race after a 
desperate struggle. Whalebone got one heat, and there 
was a dead one. The time of the heats in this famous 
race was as follows : 11m. 16s., 11m. 06s., 11m. 17s., 
and 12m. 15s. Forty-five minutes and forty-four seconds 
for the sixteen miles, which is just 2m. 52 l-8s. to the mile ! 
Now, was there a horse before, or has there been one since, 
that in his twenty-second year could beat it ? I might go 
further, and ask whether there will ever be one that can do 
it again. 

The rate of this race was better than twenty miles an 
hour ; and it may well be thought that the old horse of 
twenty-two years old, who could trot four four-mile heats at 
a gait that would have made twenty miles in less than 
fifty-eigl .t minutes, could have gone the twenty in an hour. 
He could have gone along at an even rate, had it been 
twenty miles against time, and would not have been pushed 
along so as to make four miles in 11. 06s., which was at the 
rate of 2m. 46*s. to the mile. In long performances 
against time, it is the level, even rate that wins. If Capt. 
McGowan had been made to go his fifth, sixth, 
seventh, and eighth miles in 11m. 06s. instead of 11m. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 13 L 

31|s. in which he trotted them, it might have a vast differ- 
ence at the end of his twenty miles. 

But we have not done with this gallant veteran yet. 
True, he was then in his twenty-second year, and spavined 
in both legs ; but he was a young one compared to some of 
the poor decrepit animals we sometimes see staggering 
about, overkneed, and twisted up and knuckled behind, and 
utterly ruined in constitution, as well as in their legs, before 
they are ten years old. We must follow the evergreen, 
live-oak, old Topgallant into his twenty-fourth year, and 
see what he did when his days were nigh unto those of a 
quarter of a century. It was in 1831, two years after the 
race above mentioned, and when the old horse was in his 
twenty-fourth year, that he and Whalebone and six others 
met on the Hunting-park Course at Philadelphia, and 
trotted a race of three-mile heats. Thus there were eight 
trotters in the race : Dread, ridden by George Spicer ; 
Topgallant, ridden by Matt Clintock in the first three 
heats, and by Uncle George Woodruff in the fourth; 
Collector, ridden by Peter Whelan ; Chancellor, ridden by 
' Prank Duffy ; Whalebone, ridden by Frank Tolbert in the 
first two heats, but in the third by George Woodruff; 
Lady Jackson, ridden by John Vanderbilt ; Moonshine, by 
James Hammil ; and Columbus, by George Woodruff, until 
he broke down in the second heat. Dread was a handsome 
bay gelding, about fifteen hands and an inch, a beautiful 
goer, and a horse of capital bottom. Columbus was a 
bright bay horse, sixteen hands high. In the first part of 
his career he was called the Acker Colt, and at that time 
George Spicer took care of him. He afterwards went to 
Philadelphia, and passed into my uncle's care. He was 
the first horse that ever beat eight minutes in a three-mile 
heat. Peter Whelan rode him in 7m. 58s. ; James Black 
of Philadelphia owned him at that time. Chancellor was 
a handsome dapple gray, with a long tail. At that time 
most of our horses were docked. He was about fifteen 



132 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

hands two inches, and had a deal of style. A little after 
this race, in the same year and on the same course, he 
trotted thirty-two miles in two hours ; and in that Harvey 
Iiichards rode him. Lady Jackson was a red gray mare, 
fifteen hands and half an inch high. She was quite hand- 
some. Moonshine was a dark gray gelding, fifteen hands 
and a half high with a long tail. He was a fine, stylish 
horse. 

The odds at the start for the first heat was on Columbus, 
a hundred to seventy against the field. It was one of the 
finest sights I ever saw when these eight splendid bays and 
grays, all in the finest order, and their jockeys in the 
richest and most varied colors and beautiful costumes, came 
thundering along for the word, in a group, at the flying 
trot. Eight such horses and such riders had never met 
before, and it is doubtful when they will again. Never, 
certainly, until the good old customs of using trotting- 
horses under saddle, and requiring the jockeys to ride in 
dress, are revived. 

At the period I speak of, and prior to that, the riders of 
the trotters had always to be dressed in jockey costume for 
the race ; and there was a great deal of expense and taste 
laid out in the rich velvets and silks of vivid hue of which 
the jackets and caps were made up. The word being given, 
away they went for the first heat of three miles ; and Col- 
lector had Hie speed of the party. Columbus did not 
go as well jis usual. At this distance of time, and referring 
to nothing but my own memory, I do not venture to place 
all the horses. If it be required, with some further con- 
sideration and a look at a document or two calculated to 
freshen my recollection, I may hereafter do that. I know 
that Collector won the heat with great ease in 8.16 ; and 
that Peter "Whelan said afterwards that he could have 
distanced the whole of the others, in his opinion, if his 
party had let him go along. The next heat was won by 
old Topgallant ; and in this Columbus broke down. There- 



THE TliOTTING-IIOIiSE OF AMERICA. 133 

upon, George "Woodruff mounted "Whalebone for the third 
heat. 

The excitement was very great, and away they wont 
again. This time Dread won ; and Whalebone, not having 
won a heat in three, was ruled out. Now, then, George 
"Woodruff mounted old Topgallant for the last struggle. 
At that time there was no rule against having more than 
one horse entered and started in a race of heats from the 
same stable. In this race we had three, — Topgallant, 
"Whalebone, and Columbus ; and such were the vicissitudes 
and fortunes of the day, that, before it was over, my uncle 
had ridden them all three. The only horses that had won 
a heat were Collector, Topgallant, and Dread ; and, of 
course, these alone came to the post for the fourth heat, 
the great riders, Peter "Whelan, George "Woodruff, and 
George Spicer, being on them respectively. The veteran 
of twenty-four years, old Topgallant, went away under full 
sail, and led them for two miles and some two or three 
hundred yards ; but Dread then came along and passed him, 
and won the deciding heat easily. 

These horses, it will be perceived, trotted twelve miles ; 
and here was old Topgallant, beaten in the race, it is true, 
but winner of a heat, and second in the last heat, thus 
getting second place in the race. The following week, after 
this great race at Philadelphia, we went to Baltimore, where 
they gave a purse of three hundred dollars, three-mile heats. 
Topgallant and Whalebone contended for it ; George Wood- 
ruff riding Topgallant, and George Spicer, Whalebone. Top- 
gallant won it. This shows the tremendous endurance and 
recuperative energj 7- of that wonderful horse's constitution. 
One week a very hard race of four three-mile heats, against 
all the best horses of the day : the next week another race 
of three-mile heats against Whalebone ; and this Topgal- 
lant won easily, being, as I have before said, but which 
cannot too often be repeated, in his twenty-fourth year. 

It is here worthy of remark that Whalebone himself was 



134 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

driven by my uncle, George Woodruff, thirty-two miles in 
two hours, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia. 
In the course of this race against time, the first sulky used 
broke down on the backstretch of the course, and another 
had to be sent for and taken to the spot. This caused a 
delay of four minutes ; but nevertheless, when hitched up 
again, Whalebone went on, and won the race easily. For 
my part, I admired Whalebone greatly, but I was much 
attached to old Topgallant. I took care of him at the 
time of the great race between the eight at the Hunting- 
park Course, and the one the following week at Baltimore ; 
and I have always been proud, that, so early in my experi- 
ence of trotting-horses, I knew this almost everlasting son 
of the renowned Messenger. I have said that this famous 
trotter was spavined in both hind-legs, and so he was ; but 
the spavins never made him lame, and were really no 
detriment to him. As a rule, no horse, ever had better leg3 
than the Messengers. 

So far as I am informed, there is not another instance in 
the annals of either the running or the trotting turf, of a 
horse which has raced and won, especially three and four 
mile heats, when upwards of twenty years of age. The 
oldest I can find on the running-turf was Buckhunter, a 
gelding by the Bald Galloway, who ran in England when 
upwards of sixteen years old, and might have run on some 
time longer if he had not broken a leg. The Messengers 
were always a lasting and long-lived breed of horses. Top- 
gallant was twenty-eight when he died. His sire, Mam- 
brino, was upwards of twenty when last advertised to cover 
in England, and was eleven when he ran his last race. His 
sire, Engineer, ran till he was ten, and died at the age of 
twenty-seven. In this country a daughter of the tribe, 
Lady Blanche, the first filly ihat Abdallah got, went a 
trotting-race when she was about twenty. These thinga 
must be borne in mind. 



\< 



xiv. 

The Indian Horse Lylee. — Eunjeet Singh's Passion for Horses. — The Bat- 
tles fought for Lylee. — Description of him. — Lady Blanche. — Awful. 
— His Race with Screwdriver. — Blanche, Snowdrop, and Beppo. — Death 
of Blanche. — Ajax and Oneida Chief. — Their Road-Race to Sleighs. — 
Brown Rattler. 

ALTHOUGH Topgallant was the most remarkable 
instance of extraordinary trotting power and endur- 
ance, when at a great age, that ever came under my notice, 
he was not the only one. Most of those which have been 
celebrated for this capital excellence were of the Messenger 
blood ; and it will be remembered that I noticed this point 
in that strain of horses when mentioning them in the prior 
chapters of this work. Singularly enough, it happens that 
I took up an old book of travels a day or two ago, which 
made mention of a very celebrated horse, one who is indeed 
historical, that had all the external points of that family. 
I do not, of course, pretend to say that he was of the blood, 
for the horse in question was in the East Indies ; but, as he 
was undoubtedly produced by a union of the Arab or other 
Eastern breed with some horse either English or of English 
origin, he may have been more nearly related to Messenger, 
Mambrino, and Engineer, than one would at the first sup- 
pose, when I say that he lived and died on the banks of the 
Indus. I allude to the old horse Lylee, the prime favorite 
of the Maharajah, Runjeet Singh, the old " Lion of the 
Punjaub" as the British called him. This great warrior 
prince had, in common with many other remarkable men, 
an extraordinary passion for horses. It was so strong, that 

135 



136 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

it passed into a proverb in the East, and some said amount- 
ed to a species of insanity. His name was great among all 
the teeming myriads of that ancient land ; and whenever 
it was mentioned, either by Brahmin, Mussulman, or Euro- 
pean, it was almost always coupled with that of his favorite 
steed, the gray horse Lylee. 

Old Bunjeet spent untold millions upon his stud; and 
his horses were caparisoned in so sumptuous a manner that 
it would have raised the envy of a Broadway belle. Bridles 
and saddles inlaid with gold and studded with precious 
stones ; necklaces of costly gems, fastened underneath with 
onyx (believed to possess talismanic virtue) ; and hangings of 
the richest stuff which goes to make the famous shawls of 
Cashmere, — were the trappings of the celebrated stallions. 
But though more richly adorned than the steed of Caligula, 
the horses of Bunjeet Singh were kept for use as much as 
show. The old monarch was a desperate rider, as well as 
one of the greatest warriors that India has ever seen. He 
computed, that, from first to last, Lylee had cost him no 
less than three millions of dollars and the lives of twelve 
thousand men. The horse, when he first became celebrated, 
was the property of Yan Mohammed Khan, who ruled a 
great tract of country, and had his capital at Peshawur. 
The fame of Lylee soon spread through all the vast regions 
watered by the J[ndus and its tributaries ; and Bunjeet 
Singh, unable to obtain him by negotiation, went to war 
for him. After a long contest, the arms of the Maharajah 
prevailed ; and he made it a preliminary condition of peace 
that Lylee should be delivered to him. 

Mohammed Khan had failed to defend the possession of 
Lylee by the sword, and now sought to evade his delivery 
by chicane. He at first pretended that the horse was dead, 
and, when Bunjeet was not to be put off by that subterfuge, 
sought to impose another horse on him instead of the real 
Lylee. Before Bunjeet Singh had obtained possession of 
the horse, Yan Mohamued died, and his brother, Sooltan 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 137 

Mohammed, succeeded to the throne at Peshawur. He 
continued to interpose prevarication and procrastination to 
the demands of the Maharajah ; but the matter was finally 
brought to an issue by one Ventura, an Italian soldier of 
fortune, and a general in Runjeet's service. Having made 
another formal demand for Lylee, he was met, as all the 
other negotiators had been, with quibbles from Sooltan 
Khan ; whereupon, calling up a lot of soldiers whom he 
had instructed to straggle after him into the courtyard 
of the palace, he declared Sooltan his prisoner. Thereupon 
Lylee was delivered up ; but, to maintain possession of him, 
the Maharajah was obliged to fight another war. 

In 1839, this horse was seen by some English - officers. 
He was then very old — they could not say how old — and 
feeble ; a flee-bitten gray, standing over sixteen hands high, 
and with all the plain strength of a coarse, thoroughbred 
horse. So much for Lylee, whose description would answer 
well for one of the Messengers. 

We will pass from him to one that was unquestionably 
of the Messenger blood, — the gray mare Lady Blanche, by 
Abdallah. This mare was raised by Mr. John Treadwell, 
who also raised her sire Abdallah, on the island here. She 
was certainly one of the first foals, if not the very first, 
that Abdallah got. According to Mr. Treadwell, and the 
unbroken tradition of his men, she was the first got by that 
grandson of imported Messenger. Lady Blanche was a 
handsome gray mare, fifteen hands two and a half inches 
high, with a long tail. She was foaled in 1829, and, when 
rising six years old, was matched against Awful to trot 
under saddle for two thousand dollars a side, half forfeit, 
over the Centre ville Course. At that time, Awful was 
owned by Mr. S. Neal of New York. He cut his quarter, 
and was compelled to pay forfeit. He was a bay, fifteen 
hands two inches high, and a lofty goer. 

After this match, he was sold to the Messrs. Anderson of 
New York, and matched against Screwdriver, a sorrel pony, 



138 THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

the property of Washington Costar of New York. The 
race was three-mile heats, in harness, over the Centre ville 
Course, for one thousand dollars a side ; and Awful won it 
easily in two heats. I afterwards beat him several times 
with Dutchman, hut shall reserve ■ reciting the facts until 
we come down to the career of that horse. On the day set 
down for the race between Lady Blanche and Awful, the 
mare was led on to the course by Mr. Treadwell, his farmer 
John being already in the saddle to ride her. Much to the 
disappointment of many, forfeit was declared on the part 
of Awful. After that Mr. Treadwell used to drive Lady 
Blanche on the road, in an old stick sulky that he had got, 
and he put her through some sharp work. At a later 
period, Tom Hyer had her, and banged her up and down 
the roads and all about New York for a long time. He 
always thought a vast deal of this gray mare ; and, if she 
had not inherited the cast-steel qualities of the Messenger 
tribe, I doubt whether she would ever have recovered from 
the effects of his system of driving. 

The mare was getting on in years, all battered up, and 
apparently worn out ; so Tom Hyer sold her in the ring at 
Tattersall's for less than one hundred dollars. Mr. George 
Hopkins bought her, and sent her to the West, — to Wis- 
consin, I believe. She was there until she was more than 
twenty years old, when he got her back, and sold her to Mr. 
S. D. Hoagland. Her capacity as a trotter at such an age 
was very remarkable. She was either twenty-three or 
twenty-four years old, — probably the latter, — when she 
went against Snowdrop and Beppo on the Union Course. 
Snowdrop was a white gelding, fifteen hands high, — a 
handsome horse: I drove him. Beppo, a chestnut, scant 
fifteen hands, and a stylish stepper, was driven by Dan 
Pfifer. The old mare, driven by Sim Hoagland, won it in 
four heats, the best of which was 2.43, or thereabouts. The 
next week, Lady Blanche and Beppo went to wagons, the 
same drivers. Hoagland's weight at that time was from 



THE TROTTING-HOBSE OF AMERICA. 139 

two hundred and five pounds to two hundred and ten 
pounds; but old Blanche was well put up to pull it. 
Blanche won the second race. Prior to those, she won one 
on the road, ridden by Harry Jones ; but I did not see it. 

In 1855, this famous old mare literally " died in harness." 
Mr. Hoagland had been working her with the intention to 
take her to Baltimore to trot against Sorrel Fanny, who 
had challenged the world, for her age. She was twenty- 
two ; Blanche was twenty-five, and would certainly have 
warmed her if she had lived a little longer. Mr. Hoagland 
had been at the track that morning with Blanche, and she 
never went better. She looked as fine as silk, too, consider- 
ing her great age and what she had gone through. He put 
her under the shed at John I. Snediker's, and all at once 
saw a spasm go through her. As soon as the mare could be 
got out of the shafts, she laid herself gently down, and died 
of enlargement of the heart. You may see her picture at 
Hoagland's, at East New York. It represents her doing 
all she knows ; and Sim is well painted, with a look of satis- 
faction beaming on his face, driving her. 

Another instance of great staying power at an advanced 
age was Ajax, who was also by Abdallah. He was out of a 
good little road-mare, and was a handsome, stout, brown 
horse, fourteen hands three inches high, with a long tail 
and slim at the root like his sire. This little horse had 
immense power. He was built a good deal like his nephew 
Dexter, by Hambletonian, but was even thicker through 
behind. When Ajax was sixteen years of age, he was 
matched to trot against Mr. Charlick's bay mare twenty 
miles under saddle, for one thousand dollars a side. Ste- 
phen Weart owned Ajax; Isaac Woodruff rode him. 
C. S. Bartine, who afterwards drove Trustee the twenty 
miles within an hour, rode Mr. Charlick's mare. Ajax beat 
her very handily. The mare was pulled out before the finish ; 
and the little horse went on, and completed the distance. 

Ajax was foaled at Bath, Lon^ Island; in 1832. In 



140 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

1836, when he was four years old, I drove him a mile on 
the Centreville Course in three minutes and thirty seconds. 
At that time he belonged to Mr. Edwards of Philadelphia. 
Being disposed of, he fell into the hands of Mr. Samuel 
Coope of Brooklyn, and was used by him on the road for 
some years. In the winter of 1842, I drove him a noted 
match to sleighs against the celebrated pacer Oneida 
Chief, who was afterwards taken to England. The Chief 
was the best pacer we had had at that time ; but, neverthe- 
less, Ajax was matched to go the length of the road against 
him, from Bradshaw's, near Harlem Bridge, to the pave- 
ments at Twentj'-eighth Street. Oneida Chief was a hand- 
some chestnut, with three white legs and a blaze. He 
stood about fifteen hands and half an inch. The match 
was made one afternoon to go the next day. Mr. Harry 
Jones drove the pacer. It was a very cold day, and the 
snow somewhat drifted. At that time there were but few 
houses along the road, except for public accommodation. 
Where the Central Park now is was a rough, desolate tract. 
At the start from Bradshaw's, I went away at a good 
rate, for I knew the bottom of the gallant little Ajax, and 
relied upon it to cut down his opponent in the length of the 
road. It was lined on both sides, from Bradshaw's to the 
city ; and I question whether there were ever as many out 
at one time since that day. There they were in the snow, 
buttoned and nmfned up, and their noses blue with cold, or 
red from the effects of the hot apple-jack they ran into the 
houses every now and then to take. At last we came, 
squaring away, and going through them pretty fast. The 
snow flew where it had drifted ; and the runners of the 
sleighs made it shriek again, as they slid over it to the 
music of the bells. I kept ahead, making the pace hot ; 
and, when we had gone two miles and a qi arter to York- 
ville, Jones gave it up, and stopped the pacer. After that, 
many others turned in to brush with me as I went along; 
but none of them could live far with Ajax. As we neared 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 141 

the city, the crowds grew greater ; there was more noise 
and cheering, and more furious jangling of the sleigh-bells 
as the gentlemen drove their horses about, up and down the 
sides of the road. The more the noise and confusion, the 
greater the speed of Ajax. He got upon his mettle ; and 
towards the last of it, we went so fast, that the people 
could recognize neither him nor me, and remained in doubt 
what it was that had gone by like a flash, through the 
crowd, and won it. There was not a horse in America 
capable of beating Ajax from Bradshaw's to the pavement 
on that day. That was sleighing ! 

In the following year, Ajax, being then eleven years old, 
was matched against Brown Rattler of Baltimore, three- 
mile heats, under saddle, on the Beacon Course, New 
Jersey. I rode Ajax; James Whelply rode Brown Rattler. 
The day was rainy, and the course very heavy. Ajax car- 
ried fifteen pounds over weight ; for, with the saddle, I was 
a hundred and sixty pounds. We distanced the Baltimore 
horse the first heat ; the time of the miles being 2.44, 2.42, 
2.37, — total three miles, 8.03. Ajax was a wonderful little 
horse to carry weight and stay. Indeed, he was only little 
in height, being a big horse on short legs. Ajax went 
another race with a horse that was afterwards taken to 
England, besides the one with the pacer Oneida Chief. It 
was Sir William, a chestnut gelding, fifteen hands and an 
inch high, and with one white foot behind. He was a fine- 
looking horse, and a great strider. Whether they put him 
to good use in England, I have never learned. The race 
between him and Ajax was three-mile heats, under saddle, 
on the Beacon Course. Sir William was handled by George 
Spicer, and ridden by John Spicer. Ajax got one heat, 
but lost the other two and the race. 



XV. 

The Trotter Dutchman. — Description of him. — Pedigree doubtful.— 
Dutchman and Locomotive. — Dutchman and Yankee Doodle. — Dutch- 
man, Fanny Pullen, and Confidence. — Dutchman and Lady Slipper. — 
Dutchman, Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Norman Leslie. — Dutch- 
man and Greenwich Maid. — Dutchman and Washington. — Dutchman, 
Lady Suffolk, and Eattler. — Description of Lady Suffolk and Eattler. 

I SHALL now give a sketch of one of the most famous 
trotters that ever was known. I speak of Dutchman, 
who, for the combined excellences of speed, bottom, and 
jonstitutional vigor, equal to the carrying on of a long 
campaign and improving on it, has had few if any equals, 
and certainly . no superior. His time for three miles still 
stands the best on the record. Flora Temple and General 
Butler, both horses of great speed and bottom, tried to beat 
it, but failed ; and yet it was not up to the highest mark 
that Dutchman could have made that day. But of this feat 
I shall speak as it comes along in the order of his perform- 
ances, before entering on which it will be proper to give 
some idea of his appearance. Dutchman was a bay gelding, 
fifteen hands three inches high, very powerfully made, with 
every part clean cut, and the very best of legs and feet. 
He was raised in New Jersey ; but I never knew his 
pedigree, nor ever met any one who did. This is to be 
regretted ; for he was a horse of such great stamp and high 
courage, that it would be interesting to know at least a little 
of the sources from which he sprang. This, however, we 
never can know. I have seen letters which purported to 
give his pedigree, but have never met with an account which 
at all satisfied me, or corresponded with that which was said 

142 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 143 

about the horse when I first knew him. It has been said 
that he was got by a thoroughbred imported horse, and I 
have no doubt that his ancestry was well bred. His form, 
temper, and general characteristics denoted a horse of very 
considerable breeding ; but the definite accounts that I have 
heard and seen in regard to it rest upon insufficient authority 
to satisfy me. He. was not the coarse, ungainly horse that 
many suppose him to have been. His points were good, 
though some of them were rather plain, and every thing 
about him indicated a horse of uncommon resolution and 
bottom, with a strong clash of temper. 

When I first saw Dutchman he was five years old, and 
belonged to Mr. Jeffers of Philadelphia. He worked in a 
string-team in a brick-cart, and did his full share of the 
hauling. It was found that the bay horse was a good 
stepper, and they began to drive him on the road to a wagon. 
He could then go a little better than a mile in three 
minutes. Mr. Jeffers soon sold him to Mr. Peter Barker 
of New York, and he had him pricked and docked. The 
operation was performed by George Hazard, and before 
Dutchman had entirely recovered from its effects he was 
engaged for his first trot. The match was mile and repeat, 
in harness, with a horse called Locomotive, to go on the 
Harlem track. It was made in a hurry one afternoon, and 
Dutchman was taken out of the pulleys the next day to 
trot. Harry Jones drove him, and Albert Conklin was 
behind the other horse. Dutchman won this in two heats. 

The same year, later in the fall, he trotted a match for 
$1,000 a side, from Cato's to Harlem, along Third Avenue. 
The distance was about four miles, and they went to road- 
wagons. Mr. Barker drove Dutchman. The other, a brown 
gelding called Yankee Doodle, was driven by Mr. Daniel 
Costar cf New York. Dutchman won easily. His speed ' 
and bottom were now so well thought of, that in 1836 he 
was entered in a sweepstakes with Fanny Pullen and Con- 
fidence. Fanny Pullen was afterwards the dam of the 



144 THE TROTTWG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

chestnut gelding Trustee, by imported Trustee, who first 
trotted twenty miles within an hour in harness. She was 
herself a chestnut, standing fifteen hands high, and was 
raised in the State of Maine. Confidence was a handsome 
hay gelding, fifteen hands high. Of his pedigree nothing 
definite was known. He was afterwards purchased for Mr. 
Osbaldeston, the " Old Squire " of English sporting hktary, 
and taken over to that country. Mr. Osbaldeston drove 
Confidence there many years, and trotted him some races. 
That gentleman had some of the best racers, hunters, and 
steeple-chasers in England ; but, when he wanted first-class 
trotters, he took good care to send to America for them. 

The sweepstakes race was $1,000 each, two-mile heats, 
in harness, over the Centreville Course. Joel Conkling 
drove Dutchman ; Harry Jones, Fanny Pullen ; James M. 
Hammill of Philadelphia, Confidence. The latter was a 
Philadelphia horse then, being owned by Daniel Daniels 
of that city. Daniels was called " Deaf Dan " at that time ; 
and he is the man to whom Dr. Weldon alluded in his 
famous letter vindicating the probity of turfmen, and insist- 
ing upon the veracity of trainers. The betting ran very 
high on the race. The Eastern men backed Fanny Pullen 
with great spirit. The Philadelphians put up strongly on 
Confidence. The New- Yorkers stuck to Dutchman, and a 
very large amount of money changed hands. Dutchman 
won it in two heats, and Fanny was second, the time being 
5.17^ and 5.18^. The first heat was the fastest two miles 
that had been made in harness. Dutchman was in for 
business now. Only a little time elapsed before he was 
matched to go four-mile heats under saddle against Lady 
Slipper. 

It was over the Centreville Course ; and the day was that for 
the great match between the North and the South, in which 
John Bascomb ran against Postboy, four-mile heats, over 
the Union Course. The two races attracted immense num- 
bers of people, for the courses were so near together that 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 145 

both events could be witnessed without any trouble. The 
running-race came off first ; and, after it was over, the road to 
the Centreville was as full of carriages* and wagons as it 
could be. There were many thousands of people present 
when the horses were brought out on the course. Dutch- 
man was the favorite. He was ridden by William Whelan, 
and won it in two heats. Lady Slipper was a white mare, 
about fourteen hands three inches high. George Spicer 
rode her that day. She was afterwards taken to England, 
but I do not know what was made of her there. 

The same year, in the fall, Dutchman was entered in 
a sweepstakes with Lady Warrenton, Teamboat, and Nor- 
man Leslie, three-mile heats, under saddle. It came oif 
at Trenton, 1ST. J., and was five hundred dollars each. 
Lady Warrenton was a white mare from Baltimore, stand 
ing about fifteen hands high; and she was a good one. 
• Teamboat was a chestnut gelding, sixteen hands high, and 
so called because he had been employed in one of the teams 
that pull the barges along the levels. Norman Leslie was 
a black gelding, fifteen hands and an inch high. Lady 
Warrenton won this race ; and it was the first time that 
Dutchman met with a defeat. In the following week, 
he was matched with the Lady, three-mile heats, under 
saddle, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia. In 
this race, George Spicer rode Dutchman, and beat the mare 
in two heats. It was a rainy day, and the course was 
heavy. This made little difference to Dutchman, who was 
a strong horse, able to go in heavy ground, and keep going 
with the weights up. He was also a grand horse for all 
sorts of weather; and, when once in fine condition, would 
stand as much wear and tear, and keep going on, as long as 
any horse I ever knew, and this when the races were all of 
long heats. Soon after this race, Dutchman fell lame 
behind, and was turned out. He ran out for sixteen or 
eighteen months. When he was taken up to be put in 
work again, he came to me ; and this was the beginning of 

10 



146 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

a long and eventful connection "between us. At the first 
of it we did not meet with success ; but I knew, that, if he 
kept on, it would he sure to come. He was then ten years 
old ; and his first trot in my hands was against Greenwich 
Maid, a hay mare, fifteen hands high. 

The race was two-mile heats, in harness, over the Beacon 
Course, New Jersey ; and the mare won it in two heats, 
the best of which was 5m. 16s. Shortly afterwards, Dutch- 
man trotted two-mile heats against Washington over the 
same course. Washington was a gray gelding, sixteen 
hands high, very speedy, hut having the peculiarity that he 
would go all to pieces if not checked up close. He also 
beat Dutchman in two heats ; and the best of them was 
5m. 16s., as Greenwich Maid's had been. 

The same year Dutchman went for a purse over the Beacon 
Course against Lady Suffolk and Rattler, two-mile heats, 
under saddle. Battler was a bay gelding, fifteen hands 
high, a fast and stout horse, though light-waisted, and deli- 
cate in appetite and constitution. At that time he would 
sometimes only eat six quarts of oats a day ; and the trainer 
was doing uncommonly well when he got nine quarts into 
him. He was afterwards taken to England, and, take him 
for all in all, was the best American trotter that ever went 
there. William Whelan went over with him, but not 
before we had some desperate struggles between him and 
Dutchman. 

Lady Suffolk was a gray mare about fifteen hands and an 
inch. She was got by Engineer, son of imported Messen- 
ger, and was certainly a tremendous mare, well worthy of 
her illustrious descent. She was bred on Long Island, in 
Suffolk County, and thus got the name of Lady Suffolk. 
When she was three years old, David Bryan bought her of 
the farmer who raised her, for ninety dollars. In the race 
of which I am now writing, Bryan rode Lady Suffolk, Bill 
Whelan rode Battler, and I rode Dutchman. We won it 
in two heats, of 5.11-5.13. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 147 

Shortly after this, a match was made between Dutchman 
and Eattler to go three-mile heats under saddle, for two 
thousand dollars, on the Beacon Course. Dutchman was 
the favorite, but Eattler was in fine condition that day ; 
and a desperate struggle ensued between the horses and 
their riders, William Whelan and myself. In the first 
heat, we went away together ; and at any time in the course 
a sheet would have covered both horses. It was very close 
at the finish ; but Eattler won by half a length. Dutch- 
man made a break in the heat, the only one he made in the 
race ; and that enabled Eattler to win it in 7m. 45Js. The 
second heat was like the first. We went away together ; 
and it was hard to say which had the advantage for two 
miles and a half. Sometimes one would be a head in front, 
and then the other would come up and get the lead by a 
neck. But they were never clear of each other ; and, at the 
drawgate in the third mile, it was head-and-head. But 
Eattler now broke (this was the only break he made in the 
race), and Dutchman won the heat in 7.50. 

I have not since seen such a heat as that which ensued. 
Over the whole distance of ground, three miles, it was liter- 
ally a neck-and-neck struggle. Nothing could have been 
finer to the spectators than the desperate and long-sustained 
efforts of these capital ' horses, aided by the exertions and 
judgment of the riders. Neither horse was clear of the 
other at any time ; and, when we had both used our utmost 
endeavors to land a winner, if only by half a head, the 
judges declared that it was a dead heat in 8.02. In the 
fourth heat, the struggle was again as close as could be for 
upwards of two miles ; but then the unrivalled bottom of 
Dutchman obtained the superiority. At the end of the 
eleventh mile, the pace and distance began to tell on Eat- 
tler; and Dutchman won it handily in 8.24. 

Just such a race as this it has never been my fortune to 
see since, and nobody had seen such a one before. For 
eleven miles the horses were never clear of each other j 



148 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

and, when Dutchman left Battler in the twelfth, it was by 
inches only. Moreover, there were but two breaks in this 
race, and each horse made but one in his twelve miles. 
That was trotting ; and, though both the horses afterwards 
acquired more speed, they never exhibited more obstinate 
game or more thorough bottom than in this race. Eattler 
was an honest, fast horse, with a great deal of bottom in 
his light, waspy, wiry make. He was a very long strider ; 
and, when going his best, it sometimes seemed as though 
his thin waist would part in the middle. That was the last 
time of his trotting before he went with Whelan to Eng- 
land. In that country he beat the Birmingham mare and 
Glasgow mare, and challenged the world. 

I was within an ace at one time of going over with 
Dutchman to take up the challenge, but did not do so 
"Whelan says he could have beaten me in England; for 
Eattler had taken to hearty feeding and gained strength, 
and much improved in speed. But the truth is, that Dutch- 
man had shown increased speed, too ; and I had no doubt 
then, nor have I had any since, about his ability to beat 
Eattler, if he had gone to England and done well. I think, 
too, that the strong probability of this will appear to the 
reader, when we come to review the performances, since 
unequalled in spite of all our improvement and latter-day 
advantages, which Dutchman afterwards made in my hands. 
As I have said above, his three-mile time yet stands at the 
head of the record ; and, though it is often said that it 
would be very easy to beat it, I think we may reasonably 
conclude, in view of the failure of Flora Temple and 
General Butler to do so, that it is not quite so easy as it 
seems. Besides, I always remark, when this allegation is 
made, that it would have been easy for Dutchman to do the 
three miles faster than he did ; and this I shall prove when 
we come to speak of the time-race. It would, however, be 
easy for Butler to beat it under saddle. 






XVL 

Dutchman and Lady Suffolk. — Dutchman, Lady Suffolk, Mount Holly, 
and Harry Bluff. — Dutchman and Awful. — Dutchman against Time, 
Three Miles. — The Race and Incidents. 

I 1ST resuming tTie history of Dutchman, we begin again 
at the rlose of the great race of four three-mile heats ; in 
which he won a hard and very stoutly-contested struggle 
with B-attler, just prior to that horse's voyage to England, 
where, as I have before remarked, he greatly distinguished 
himself under the care and superintendence of Wm; Whelan. 
It was not only found that he was vastly superior to any 
English-bred trotter, but also to those which had been im- 
ported into England from this country. Several of these 
had been horses of fine speed and bottom. It was, however, 
no more * than might have been expected, that Rattler 
should excel them all ; for he was very near indeed to 
Dutchman when he left this country. It was a very close 
thing between them; and I have learned, that, after he 
arrived in the island, the air and strong feed so agreed with 
him, that he displayed more vigor and bottom than he had 
done while he was in this country. 

It was now the spring of 1839, and Dutchman had been 
in my hands a year. We commenced the operations of that 
memorable season with a trot between Dutchman and 
Lady Suffolk, over the Beacon Course, New Jersey, two- 
mile heats, under saddle. As a matter of course, I rode the 
old bay horse, and David Bryan rode the gray Lady of 
Suffolk. Dutchman won it handily in two heats of 5m. 9s., 
5m. lis. That was the beginning of the season, and early 

149 



150 THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 

for a beginning at that. In the month of May we went to 
Baltimore, to trot three-mile heats, under saddle, with three 
other horses. There was Lady Suffolk, who was now 
developed into a regular campaigner, and was a wonderful 
mare; Mount Holly, a white gelding, fifteen hands high — 
how related to the Messenger horse of that name, who is 
among the forefathers of the Black gelding General Butler, 
I am unable to say ; and Harry Bluff, a bay gelding, 
fifteen hands three inches high. Dutchman won the race 
in two heats of 7m. 56s., 7m. 53s. 

On our return home from Baltimore, we had a meeting 
with Awful, the bay gelding before spoken of as having 
been matched with Lady Blanche, the daughter of Abdallah, 
when six years old, and paid forfeit to her in consequence 
of lameness ; and, as having afterwards defeated Screwdriver, 
three-mile heats, in harness, over the Centreville Course. 
The race between Dutchman and Awful was on the 4th of 
July, and was three-mile heats, in harness. Dutchman won 
it, distancing Awful in the first heat, in the then arnaeing 
time of 7m. 41s. At the start for this race, the odds were 
100 to 25 on Awful ; and the result, with the time in which 
it was achieved, caused a large amount of wonder and dis- 
cussion. This three miles in harness was then the greatest 
performance that had ever been made ; and it will be 
found, upon investigation, that it has very seldom been sur- 
passed since that date, almost twenty-six years ago. Flora 
Temple was the first that ever beat it ; and, if I am not 
mistaken, the only others that have done so are General 
Butler — when he went in harness against Dutchman's 
saddle-time — and Stonewall Jackson of Hartford, in his 
three-mile race in 1866 on the Fashion Course against 
Shark. 

It will be remembered, in estimating the merit and value 
of this performance, that since it was made, above a quarter 
of a century has passed away, of an age renowned above all 
preceding ones in history for progress ; that all the efforts 



THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 151 

of breeders, breakers, trainers, and drivers have been 
directed to improve the speed of our trotting-horse to the 
highest rate attainable, consistent with the faculty of en- 
durance ; that neither pains nor perseverance have been 
spared to perfect our modern courses ; and that all the skill 
and ingenuity of an intelligent class of our mechanics have 
been successfully applied to the production of the best 
and lightest vehicles for trotting purposes. The sulky in 
which Dutchman trotted on that day weighed 821bs. I have 
now two that weigh less than GOlbs. each. My weight in 
driving was£om 148 lbs. to 1501bs. Dutchman took the lead 
at starting, and kept it all the way. The time of the first 
mile was 2m. 34s. ; the second was trotted in 2m. 33s. ; 
and, in the third, we returned to the rate of the first, 2m. 
34s. By considering this, we shall perceive the even rate 
and great durability of this renowned horse. He put the 
miles closer together than any horse had ever done prior to 
that race, and finished the three miles in less aggregate 
time, taking the whip nearly all the way and never making 
a break. I ventured to keep him going from the score, and 
to put the whip on from time to time ; and for this I had 
warrant in three things : I knew he was honest, and would 
answer every call to the last gasp ; I knew that he was as 
stout as oak and as tough as whalebone, and needed no 
saving ; -and I knew that he was in good condition. When- 
ever the reader has got hold of a horse in whom these good 
qualities are united, and who is to trot a long race against 
another, supposed to be his superior in point of speed, he 
need not be afraid to burst him off and keep going. But he 
had better be quite sure that they are all there ; because, if 
it should turn out that any of them is lacking, it would 
probably endanger the race. 

It is a matter of course that 7m. 41s. in harness would 
not be a great performance at this time ; and it is very 
likely that a horse or two could be found able to trot three 
miles in harness in 7m. 31s., when thoroughly fit and 



152 THE TBOTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

properly driven. But it must not be forgotten that the 
conditions then existing were very different from those we 
find in operation now. All these improvements and altera- 
tions to which I have alluded above have been in favor of 
the horses of the present day ; and therefore the champions 
of old times are entitled to much allowance in forming an 
estimate of the comparative greatness of their perform- 
ances. 

A match was now made between Dutchman and Awful, 
to trot over the Beacon Course for $1,000 a side, mile-heats, 
three in five, in harness. It took place on the 18th of July. 
Dutchman was the favorite for this, and won it handily in 
three heats, of 2m. 35s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 35s. That same 
evening the match against time was made which has, ever 
since its performance, been one of the most famous events 
in the annals of our turf. Mr. John Harrison backed 
Dutchman to trot three miles under saddle over the Beacon 
Course, on the 1st of August, for $1,000 a side. Mr. Isaac 
Anderson backed time. The horse was to have two trials, 
if necessary, and was to be allowed an hour between them. 
The time set was 7m. 39s. If Dutchman made the three 
miles in that, or in less time, he won the match. He had 
gone in 7m. 41s. in harness, as I have before remarked, and 
therefore it was a good match for the backers of the horse. 
It seemed to me that the only question was whether Dutch- 
man would be fit and well on the day. If he was he could 
not lose it. At the time it was made, the horse, as I have 
said in speaking of his Fourth-of-July trot, was in condi- 
tion. He was well seasoned ; and, between the making of 
the match on the 18th of July and the 1st of August when 
it was trotted, he had just his usual work. Prior to this 
time, Dutchman had been purchased of Minturn, Conklin, 
Vooris, & Co., for $3,000, by James Hammil of Philadel- 
phia. He was bought by Hammil for Gen. Cadwallader, 
heretofore spoken of as one of the most liberal turfmen 
of that day. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 153 

The 1st of August came ; the ardent summer sun rising 
bright and clear, and assuming his reign over a very warm 
day. We let him sink towards his haven in the golden 
west before we prepared for the race. The course was fine, 
a large concourse of people were in attendance, and the 
odds were two to one on Dutchman when we brought him 
out and stripped him. At six o'clock in the evening, he 
was saddled ; and I mounted, feeling fully confident that 
the feat set would be done with much ease. We were 
allowed a running-horse to keep company ; and I had a nice 
blood-like mare, she being under my brother Isaac. 

We went off at a moderate jog, gradually increasing the 
pace, but conversing part of the way at our ease. Isaac 
asked me how fast I thought I could go the mile ; to which 
I replied, " About two minutes, thirty-five." It was accom- 
plished in 2m. 34^s., and Dutchman never was really ex- 
tended. Now occurred a circumstance which must be 
related, because it was curious in itself, and had its effect 
on the time. Mr. Harrison, the backer of Dutchman, had 
lent his watch to a friend, and was not keeping time of the 
horses himself as they went round. As we came by the 
stand, some bystander, who had made a mistake in timing, 
told him that the time of the mile was 2.38, which was a 
losing average. He therefore called out to me as I passed 
him, to go along ; and go along I did. Dutchman struck a 
great pace on the back-stretch, and had established such a 
fine stroke that the running-mare was no longer able to live 
with him. My brother Isaac got alarmed, and sung out to 
me that I was going too fast. I replied that I had been told 
to go along. It was not my conviction that the horse was 
going too fast even then ; for if ever there was one that I could 
feel of, and that felt all over strong and capable of main- 
taining the rate, Dutchman did then. Nevertheless, I took 
a pull for Isaac, and allowed him to come up and keep 
company for the balance of the mile. It was performed in 
2.28 very handily. 



154 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

The third mile we kept the same relative positions; 
Dutchman being under a good pull all the way, and able to 
have left the running-mare had he been called upon so to 
do. The rate was now very even ; and it was maintained 
until we were within about two hundred yards of the stand, 
when I was notified to check up, and come home at a more 
moderate gait. I therefore crossed the score at a jog-trot, 
and Dutchman was at a walk within fifteen yards of it. 
The last mile was 2.30, the whole being 7.32i. Great as 
this performance was thought at the time, long as it has 
since stood unequalled, and great and deserved as has been, 
and is, the fame of those who have endeavored to surpass 
it, I declare that it was not by any means all that Dutch- 
man could have done that day. I am positive, that, if he 
had been called upon to do so, he could have trotted the 
three miles in 7.27, or better. This is no light opinion of 
mine, taken up years afterwards on inadequate grounds, and 
when those who might be opposed to it had gone from 
among us : it was the judgment of those who saw him in 
the feat, observed him all through, and noticed how he fin- 
ished. He as much surpassed any thing that the public had 
expected of him as could well be conceived ; and yet the 
three-mile heat in harness in which he distanced Awful was 
warrant to look out for something great. It has always 
been my conviction, and will remain so to my dying day, 
that Dutchman could have done the last mile handily in 
two minutes and twenty-six seconds ; and I even hold to the 
opinion that he could have done it in 2.25. The people 
who witnessed the race thought so too. 

As for the second mile, which he made in 2.28, it was 
one of the easiest I ever rode in my life. In the great 
burst of speed he made when Harrison called to me to go 
along, and Dutchman went away from the running-mare, 
the horse wai strong, collected, and his long, quick stroke 
very even. At all other times in the race he seemed 
to be going well within himself j and, in setting down Iris 



THE TROTTING-HOBSE OF AMERICA. 155 

mark that day at seven minutes twenty-seven seconds, 
I am confident that I allow him quite time enough. The 
truth is, that he was a most extraordinary horse. There 
have been many trotters that could go as fast for a little 
way ; but the beauty of Dutchman was, that he could go 
fast and go all day. To beat the time he actually made 
would be easy enough to a fast horse of good bottom ; but 
to beat the mark I have set as that of which he was capa- 
ble, and I know I am inside the truth, would not be so 
easy. It is, however, never to be lost sight of, that the 
tendency of things ever since Dutchman's day has been 
towards increased speed. There has been a general set of 
the current in that direction ; and horses that are compara- 
tively at a stand-still as regards other horses of their own 
day have, nevertheless, advanced in regard to time and the 
dead. 



XVII. 

Dutchman and Washington. — Dutchman, Washington, and the Ice Pony.— 
Washington's best Mark. — Dutchman and Rifle. — Dutchman, Ameri- 
cus, and Lady Suffolk. — A Great Race in a Great Storm. — Dutchman, 
Oneida Chief, and Lady Suffolk. — Dutchman's Last Race. — His 
Death. 

SHORTLY after Dutchman's great time race, lie left my 
stable, and was taken to Philadelphia by James Ham- 
mil, who, as before mentioned, had purchased him for Gen. 
Cadwallader. In the spring of 1840 he returned to New York 
in charge of Hammil, and was matched against Lady Suifolk 
to trot over the Centreville Course, two-mile heats under 
saddle, Hammil rode Dutchman, and Bryant the Lady of 
Suffolk. She beat Dutchman the first heat in 4m. 59s., and I 
then mounted for the second. She beat him again, the time 
being 5m. 3s. I could not quite satisfactorily account for 
his being beaten in that time, after what I knew he could 
do when all right. Whether he was short of work, I can- 
not precisely determine, as he was not in my hands, and I 
had not seen him in the course of his training that year ; 
but he did not appear to be as stout and as willing as I had 
found him the previous season, and afterwards found him 
again. 

That same summer he trotted with Washington over the 
Centreville Course, two-mile heats in harness. Washington 
was then in my stable ; and with him I beat Dutchman in 
two straight heats, the best being 5m. 16s. From thence 
we went to Philadelphia, and trotted over the Hunting-park 

156 



THE TltOTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 157 

Course for a purse, two-mile heats in harness. Washington 
beat Dutchman again in two heats, the best of which was 
again 5m. 16s. In the first heat, Hammil drove him ; in 
the second, George Spicer got in. Our next meeting was 
on the Herring-run Course at Baltimore, where I trotted 
Washington against Dutchman and Ice Pony two-mile heats 
in harness. The Pony was a brown gelding, fourteen hands 
three inches high, and a fine, gallant-going little horse. He 
had not what I consider great staying qualities ; but he had 
the gift of speed in a high degree. He got the name he 
bore from having trotted on the ice in Maine, from whence 
he came. Col. C. Bartine drove the Pony, Hammil drove 
Dutchman, and I drove Washington. The latter won it 
in two straight heats, and the best of them this time was 
5m. 16-is. The pony led for a mile and a half; but I judged 
that he would be sure to " come back n to us before he had 
got twice round, and so kept my weather-eye on Dutchman. 
I must mention here, that, prior to this trip South, I trotted 
Washington against Dutchman two-mile heats in harness 
over the Beacon Course, and won in two heats, the best of 
them being 5m. 16s. 

It is rather a curious circumstance, that, when Washington 
was all right he could trot two miles in harness in just five 
minutes and sixteen seconds ; and, if called upon for better 
time, he could not make it. That was his best mark ; bat, if 
in condition, he could be relied upon to do it with certainty. 
After our return from Baltimore, we trotted two-mile heats 
in harness over the Beacon Course, New Jersey, and Dutch- 
man won it in three heats. Washington got the first in 5m. 
16s. again. Dutchman got the second and third. Dutchman 
now returned to Philadelphia, and met Bine in two races on 
the Hunting-park Course, mile-heats, three in five, one in 
harness, the other under saddle. Bine was a handsome 
little bay horse, fifteen hands high. He and Lady Suffolk 
performed the first great feat in double harness, distan- 
cing Mr. Frank Duffy's bay-team, Apology and Hardware, 



158 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

in 5ra. 19s. The first mile was 2m. 42s., the second 2m. 
37s. 

At that time this was considered a very great perform- 
ance, and it was so. We had not then the number of opu- 
lent gentlemen trying to get fast horses for double harness 
that we have now. Mr. Bonner's mares, Blatbush Maid and 
Lady Palmer, have gone the distance over the Fashion 
Course, driven by himself to his light road-wagon, in 5.01^, 
— an astonishing thing. But it is to be remembered that 
Suffolk and Bine made their performance more than twenty 
years ago, and that time, in all ways of going, has been 
greatly reduced since then. 

The Lady and Bine were driven by James Whelpley. 
The first race between Dutchman and Bine was in harness. 
I drove Dutchman, and Whelpley Bine ; and I won in three 
heats. In the saddle-race, he beat me the first heat in 2.34. 
James Hammil then got on Dutchman, won the second heat 
in 2.38, and got the third and fourth handily. 

In 1843 Dutchman was brought to New York again, and 
placed in my charge. Our first race that season, and it was 
the last season that the old horse trotted on the turf, was 
against Americus and Lady Suffolk, two-mile heats in har- 
ness, over the Beacon Course. Bryant drove the Lady, 
Spicer Americus, and I Dutchman. Dutchman won the 
first heat, Americus the second, and Dutchman the third. 
Lady Suffolk was third in all the heats. In a week or ten 
days thereafter, we went three-mile heats in harness, over 
the Beacon Course, and it was a tremendous race of four 
heats. The first was won by Dutchman. The second was 
stoutly contested, but Americus won it. The third heat 
was very hotly contested, and resulted in a dead heat be- 
tween the old horse and Americus. Lady Suffolk was now 
ruled out for not winning a heat in three, and the betting 
was heavy, Dutchman having the call. 

The long summer day had drawn rapidly to a close. At 
the same time the heavens were overcast ; and with fading 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA 159 

gleams of dim, yellow light, the sun sank into great hanks 
of clouds. They mounted higher and higher, and seemed 
to lie like a load upon the weary earth. The heat was 
intense ; and not a breath of air was stirring to break the 
ominous repose. With the last flicker of day, the swift 
scud began to fly overhead, and the solid-seeming clouds to 
tower up and come on like moving mountains. It was dark 
when we got into our sulkies ; and, soon after the start, the 
storm burst upon us with a fury that I have never since 
seen equalled. The wind blew a hurricane, and the pelting 
rain fell in torrents, as though the sluices of the skies had 
opened all at once. Nothing could have overpowered the 
mighty rush of the wind and the furious splash of the rain 
but the dread, tremendous rattle of the thunder. It seemed 
to be discharged right over our heads, and only a few yards 
above us. Nothing could have penetrated the thick, pro- 
found gloom of that darkness but the painful blue blaze 
of the forked lightning. I could not see, in the short inter- 
vals between the flashes, the faintest trace of the horse 
before me ; and then, in the twinkling of an eye, as though 
the darkness was torn away like a veil by the hand of the 
Almighty, the whole course, the surrounding country, to 
the minutest and most ..distant thing, would be revealed. 
The spires of the churches and houses of Newark, eight 
miles off, we could see more plainly than in broad daylight ; 
and we noticed, that, as the horses faced the howling 
elements, their ears lay back flat upon their necks. Be- 
tween these flashes of piercing, all-pervading light and the 
succeeding claps of thunder, the suspense and strain upon 
the mind was terrible. We knew that it was coming so as 
to shake the very pillars of the earth we rode on ; and, 
until it had rattled over our heads, we were silent. Then, 
in the blank darkness, as we went on side by side, we would 
exchange cautions. Neither could see the other, nor hear 
the wheels nor the stride of the horses, by reason of the 
wind and rain. 



160 THE TROTTING-HOESE OF AMERICA. 

" Look out, Hiram," Spicer would say, " or we shall be 
into each other." 

A few strides farther on, and I would sing out, " Take 
care, George : you must be close to me." 

Now, the noise of the wheels and the tramp of the 
horses could not be heard in the roar of the wind and the 
patter of the rain, and yet our voices could be and were. 
For a mile and a half, in the very centre, as it were, of this 
Titanic war of the skyey elements, we went side by side. 
Then Dutchman lost ground. The track was clayey, and 
he, having on flat shoes, began to slip and slide at every 
stride. Americus gradually drew away from him ; and, 
when I reached the stand at the end of the second mile, I 
stopped. I have seen a great many summer storms in my 
time, and have been out in not a few of them ; but, of all 
that I remember, none quite equalled, in terrific fury and 
awful grandeur, that which burst over the Beacon Course 
just as we began that heat. Spicer says the same. 

After this great race upon the Beacon Course, I took the 
old horse to Baltimore, and trotted him three-mile heats 
over the Kendall Course, against the pacer Oneida Chief 
and Lady Suffolk. To the best of my knowledge, that was 
the last appearance of Dutchman upon a race-course, and 
he was then fifteen years old. The pacer beat us handily, 
that day, and Lady Suffolk was second. Dutchman wa» 
then sold to Mr. George Janeway of New York, who after- 
wards purchased Bifle, and drove them together in double 
harness as his private team. 

In 1846, after Mr. Janeway had owned him and used 
him on the road about three years, Dutchman had another 
trot in public, going with Bifle in double harness against a 
team from Brooklyn. It was the length of the road from 
the New- York pavement at Twenty-eighth Street, to Brad- 
shaw's at Harlem, to carry two men in each wagon. I 
drove the old stavers, Dutchman and Bifle ; and we won it 
easily, beating them some three hundred yards. So these 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 161 

two veterans of the turf and old opponents made their last 
race upon the road, and in firm alliance ; and, vanquishing 
their opponents easily, the golden rays of victory lighted 
up the sunset of their declining day. 

In the following year, Dutchman died in Mr. Janeway's 
stable. I was sent for the night before he expired, and, -on 
my arrival, found him down, and paralyzed in his hind- 
quarters from an injury to his spine caused by his struggles 
when cast in his stall. It was a touching and deplorable 
sight to see the fine old horse, game to the last, struggling 
with his fore-legs and raising his head, unconquered still, 
but totally helpless in his hind-quarters. At times, he 
would bend his neck and look round at his haunches, as 
though to discover why there was no longer power in the 
hips, thighs, and stifles that had sent him along so many 
years and never tired. I saw that all feeling in the parts 
was gone, and that hope of his recovery had gone with it. 
There was talk about cramp ; but I knew that it was cramp 
of the " silver cord," and that Dutchman would never rise 
upon his legs again. He died the next morning ; and then 
departed one of the best trotters, take him for all in all, 
that I have known. 

It is rather to be regretted that something definite could 

not have been ascertained in regard to the pedigree of 

Dutchman. He was so fast, so stout, so sound, and' so 

determined, that a knowledge of the sources from which he 

sprang would have been valuable as well as interesting. 

Since I commenced this work, I have been shown a letter 

from a young man whose father knew where Dutchman was 

bred, and remembered him as a colt. According to this 

authority, which is vague and uncertain, Dutchman was 

got by an imported thoroughbred horse out of a common 

country mare. The imported horse had been landed in 

Virginia, and had found his way into the south-west part 

of Pennsylvania. This was what the father of the writer 

of the letter always heard and believed, and told to his son. 
11 



162 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

It is, as I have said above, too vague and unsubstantial to 
build upon; but from Dutchman's form, character, and 
peculiarities, this was the sort of parentage that many 
would have been inclined to ascribe to him. He was not a 
coarse horse, though bony and strong ; and there was the 
appearance of a deal of breeding in his head and neck and 
his carriage, especially when going at a good rate. His 
temper and endurance also indicated that he had good blood 
in him ; and I have no do"»bt whatever of that fact. But 
there is no means that I know of tracing the source of it 
at this time ; and, though the account in the letter alluded 
to may be true, it does not appear to be entitled to be 
regarded as more than probable. 



xvin. 

Other Performances of Dutchman. — Application of facts to Principles.— 
Dutchman's steady Improvement. — Endurance of Trotters and Run- 
ning-Horses compared. 

IEI1STD, on referring to some old documents, that I have 
omitted three races in the career of Dutchman ; and 
these I now propose to add to his history. It would not 
much matter if I let it go as it was ; for I am not pretending 
to write a complete register of the races in which the 
horses I refer to were engaged, but merely give my recol- 
lections of the events prominent in my memory, and, for 
that reason, most likely to he interesting and useful to the 
general reader. But the memory once aroused, the chain 
becomes more complete, link by link ; and, as I peruse the 
result of my labors on the printed page, it often occurs to 
me, that something has escaped me which I can supply. 
Thus it came into my head, that, besides the races between 
Dutchman and Eattler of which I have spoken, there was 
another ; and going over the piles of papers and odd matters 
in my possession, respecting the events of many bygone 
years, I find that Dutchman and Eattler trotted three-mile 
heats under saddle on the Beacon Course, New Jersey, in 
October, 1838. It was for a purse of $300, free for all. 
Eattler was distanced in the first heat in 8m. 01s. 
Dutchman was the favorite at the start at 2 to 1, his con- 
dition being superior to that of Eattler. Besides that, the 
course was heavy, which suited Dutchman better than it 
did Eattler. Before the trot came off, Dutchman was put 
up at auction with his traps — a sulky, blankets, harness, 

163 



164 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

etc. He was knocked down to me at $1,500. I bought 
him in under instructions from his owners, Minturn & Co., 
not to let him go for less than a price they named in con- 
fidence. 

In July of the following year Dutchman was matched 
against Awful, three-mile heats in harness, on the Beacon 
Course. We staked $5,000 for Dutchman against $2,500 
on the part of Awful. There was a very large attendance, 
many people having come on from Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
Boston, and Providence. Dutchman was the favorite at 100 
to 40. The strangers took the odds largely: otherwise 
there would have been but little betting, for the New- York 
public had a very high opinion of Dutchman. At the start 
in the first heat, Awful took the lead, and kept a length 
ahead for half a mile. At the end of the first mile, which 
was done in 2.34, he was leading half a length. The 
second mile was 2.35, and Dutchman had established a 
good lead at the end of it. I pulled him all the way in the 
third mile ; and he won the heat as he pleased, making that 
mile in 3.09, the heat in 8.18. The second was a better 
heat. The first mile 2.47, and the others 2.36 each, making 
the heat in 7.59. Still, it was quite an easy thing for 
Dutchman. On the 7th of May, 1840, Dutchman walked 
over for a purse of $200, two-mile heats in harness, at 
the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia. This was while 
he was in the hands of Mr. Hammil, and before he brought 
]iim back to New York. 

I now propose to examine how far the career of Dutch- 
man on the turf goes to support the principles I ventured 
to lay down in the early part of this work, when speaking 
of the treatment and usage I deemed most proper for trot- 
ting-colts and young trotting-horses. It should be the aim 
of the breeder and trainer to produce just such horses, 
except in one particular, which is that of temper. Dutch- 
man was a little too rough in the stable, and, if not closely 
watched, was apt to take the jacket off a man's back at a 



THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 1G5 

mouthful. Otherwise, he was all that any one could wish 
for. He was very fast ; he was one of the stoutest horses 
that ever was called upon to go long heats, and repeat them 
until the day was done ; he had one of the best constitu- 
tions that ever came under my observation ; and he kept on 
improving until he was ten or eleven years old, in spite of 
the many hard races at long distances in which he was 
engaged. He still remains the champion thrce-milor ; 
though I am confident I should have beaten his time with 
Dexter in his late race against Stonewall Jackson of Hart- 
ford, if we had had a fair day and good track. In fact, 
although Dutchman's time has stood so long at the head of 
the column, and is pretty hard to beat even in these fast 
days, it will not do to let it become a superstition with us. 
We should take a lesson from what occurred in respect to 
Fashion's running four-mile time on the Island ; which was 
long deemed invincible by gentlemen of the old school 
hereabout, until one fine day, not very long ago, Capt. 
Moore's mare Idlewild and John M. Clay's colt Jerome 
Edgar met in a four-mile race on the Centreville Course, 
and both of them beat Fashion's time all to pieces. 

As I have said before, Dutchman did not do his best 
when he made his 7m. 32s. He never was fully extended 
but once in the race, and almost walked in ; I having pulled 
him to a mere jog-trot two hundred yards from the stand. 
I put down his mark that day at 7m. 27s., or better ; and 
therefore I certainly think that a good horse in these times, 
and carrying only a hundred and forty-five pounds, ought 
to do it in 7m. 32s. My weight, without the saddle, was 
about a hundred and fifty pounds. Of course it will take a 
horse that can stay the distance to beat Dutchman's time; 
for one that is going to come back before the three miles 
are accomplished can never do it, no matter how fast lie 
may be. The fact that it has stood so long unequalled 
should admonish us, I think, that w T e have of late rather 
neglected to cultivate lasting qualities in our trotters, ancj 



1C6 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

that we have almost entirely allowed saddle-races and long 
heats to pass out of practice. I am induced to say here of 
the two horses that started in harness against Dutchman's 
time, they both lost rather by ill-luck and inadvertence than 
by reason of lack of ability. Flora Temple would, in fact, 
have accomplished the feat, had she been allowed the dis- 
tance that the Centreville Course is more than a mile, three 
times over. But this could not be ; for, when gentlemen 
have taken a course for a mile at the beginning of a race, 
they will have to take it for just that distance, and no more, 
at the end thereof. 

General Butler lost by reason of his bad breaks in the 
third mile. Now, in my judgment, he did not break because 
he was tired, but because of the injudicious striking-in of one 
of his managers to go with him with another horse at that 
juncture. Had it been left to Butler and young Ben Mace's 
running-horse that went with him from the first to finish it 
alone, I have no doubt he would have kept on and won it. 
I had money laid the other way, and considered it as good 
as lost. This General Butler is a very remarkable horse. 
He is one that you do not feel confidence in betting on, and 
are afraid to bet against. On the day that he made his great 
two-mile time to wagon against George M. Patchen, he was 
a wonder. I am rather inclined to the belief that he could 
have equalled Dutchman's three-mile time that day, and 
have done it to a wagon. 

In regard to colts, I have previously observed that the 
forcing system in the raising of trotters was not advisa- 
ble. I am satisfied that it is not only expense laid out to 
no use, but for a purpose which is likely to be mischievous. 
Very early maturity is only to be attained accompanied 
with the liability, the almost certainty, of corresponding 
early decay; and, to achieve such excellence as that to which 
Dutchman attained, the trotting-horse must have all his 
powers long after the period at which most running-horses 
have left the turf. The reason is obvious. The trotter has 



THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 167 

to be educated up to his best and strongest rate, and the 
education takes many years. Dutchman improved until lie 
was ten or eleven years old, and it may be questioned 
whether his very best capabilities were ever brought out ; 
for the change into new hands just when he had come to 
the highest pitch that we know of was not altogether 
favorable to continued advance. Therefore, when a trotting- 
horse has attained the age of seven, and is aged, or arrived 
at natural maturity, he has only just reached that stage 
when we may begin to expect the development of his finest 
powers ; and that development, according to my experience, 
is likely to be gradual, and to continue for a long time. No 
doubt many horses never improve after they are seven ; and 
in some cases the speed comes to them all at once, as the 
•saying is. In the former, the constitution, breeding, or 
form is probably defective. 

A century of work would not improve some horses. They 
get to their best early, and only because their best is very 
bad. In the other instance, it will commonly be found that 
those who have jumped up all at once have been horses who 
have changed their gait, and got to going square, or have 
changed hands, and in different treatment have done first 
what they could have nearly done before with the same 
handling. Hence, while there is but little reason for being 
in a hurry with a young trotting-colt, and none at all for 
the expectation that he may arrive at his best early, except 
when his best will be but bad, there is every reason for 
giving Nature full time to perfect the hardy, enduring 
frame in her own cunning way without forcing. 

It is altogether likely that Dutchman might have been made 
a bigger horse, though he was big enough in my judgment, 
and an earlier horse, by means of strong feeding when very 
young ; but I am of the opinion that neither his stoutness in 
a race of heats, nor his constitutional ability to resist the 
wear and tear of the race of life, would have been improved 



168 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

thereby. On the contrary, reason and experience, to my 
mind, lead to the conclusion that they would have been dam- 
aged. Our trotting-horses, as a rule, endure much longer 
than our running-horses. If it be said that the conditions 
of training and racing are not the same, I reply, that in old 
times the running-horse endured and was kept upon the 
turf more than twice as long as he is at present, and ran 
much harder races. 

The distance and weights in England used to be three 
and four mile heats, and the weights from about 140 pounds 
to 168 pounds ; yet the horses used to run until they were 
not merely " aged," but old. Whereas, at the present 
time, they commonly retire before they are seven ; and take 
away two geldings, Throgsneck and Red Oak, there is not 
a prominent race-horse in this country, England, or Ireland, 
to-day, that is eight. Now, that arises in a great measure 
from the forcing system adopted to make colts at three 
years old as forward as they used to be at five ; and, with 
regard to the trotter, it ought to be avoided. He must last 
many years to make a first-rate one ; whereas the running- 
horse is commonly as good at four or five years as he ever 
would be, if he could run on until he was twenty. There 
is nothing in the thoroughbred horse that entails earlier 
decay than other strains are liable to. If of good sound 
family, such as Messenger belonged to, and not subjected to 
severer treatment and greater strain than horses of other 
breeds are called upon to endure, I am satisfied that the 
thoroughbred is the hardiest as well as the speediest and 
stoutest animal that the art of man has been able to 
perfect. 

Another point against which I warned the owners and 
handlers of young trotting-horses was the practice, beginning 
to obtain to a mischievous extent, of taxing their powers 
severely while they are in the sap and green of youth. We 
find that Dutchman never trotted a race until he was six 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 169 

years old, and that he had no training to undergo until he 
was seven. Does anybody think that he would have been a 
sound, fast, strong horse at eighteen, if he had been put 
through the mill of hard training, high trials, and severe 
races at three or four ? It is the " grand preparation " and 
the screwing-up in the high trial that take away the steel 
and life of the young horses. Very often the race itself is 
an easy one for the winner; but the mischief has been 
done before the race was come to, and the young horse is 
seriously damaged, if not ruined for life. A horse like 
Dutchman does twenty times more hard work as a trot- 
ter, than twenty of the early, hard-trained, tried, and raced 
ones can ever do ; and it don't hurt him one bit. 

Some will say the comparison is not fair : Dutchman was 
a very extraordinary horse. I answer so he was ; but, if 
you want one approaching his excellence in all points, don't 
you go to stuffing your colts with bruised oats and oatmeal 
before they are weaned, and ramming them up to the full 
extent of their powers, in training, trials, and the like, at 
three years old. I know that the man who has got a three- 
year-old flyer or two to sell at a high price will call these sad, 
old-fogy notions, say that I am behind the age, and that 
the early system is the thing. So it is for hiin, because he 
is going to sell the colt that has been hurried along to an 
unnatural and fleeting precocity ; and when he has been 
sold, and the nine days' wonder of the big price has passed 
away, that is probably the last we shall ever hear of the colt, 
and the seller will have one more of the same sort, or may 
be as fast and younger, to dispose of next year. But you 
want to produce, if possible, one that in the course of time — 
time, that tries all — shall earn a solid and enduring reputa- 
tion as a good trotter ; therefore follow the old racing maxim, 
" Wait and win." 

You will have to be at the expense of some money and 
more patience in the extra year or two that must elapse be- 



170 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

fore your colt can be put to strong work, and you must wait 
for the reward. The opposite doctrine to that which I have 
laid down is exactly in point with the resolution of the fool in 
the fable : " I'll not wait for the slow operation of this goose 
in laying one golden egg a day : I'll kill her, and get them 
all at once ! " 



XIX. 

The Story of Ripton. — Description of him. — Ripton and Mount Holly. — 
Ripton and Kate Kearney. — Peter Whelan and George Youngs. — Rip- 
ton and Don Juan. — Necessity of Work and Practice. — Ripton, 
Dutchman, Confidence, and Spangle. — Ripton, Duchess, and Quaker. — 
Ripton and Revenge. — Ripton and Lady Suffolk. — A Fast, Close Race. 

BEFORE my experience was completed with Dutchman, 
another horse came into my hands, who was second 
only to that famous trotter, in my estimation, for speed and 
bottom, and ability to stand wear-and-tear, when he had 
had good practice and had come to a ripe maturity. I speak 
of Ripton, who became very celebrated just before Dutch- 
man left the turf; for the road had passed into the possession 
of Mr. Janeway. Ripton was a very handsome bay horse, 
with four white legs and a blaze in the face. In that par- 
ticular he was like Dexter, who is now a greatly esteemed 
favorite of mine, and brown. Like him, too, he was a little 
horse in inches, but good and substantial in make and girth. 
He did not stand above fifteen hands high ; but he had fine 
power, and was a horse of uncommon fire, spirit, and deter- 
mination. His style of going was very fine, — as near per- 
fection as any thing I have ever seen ; but, from the fact 
that one foreleg was whited higher up towards the knee 
than the other, casual observers often fancied, when he was 
going fast, that he lifted that foot the highest, and slapped 
it down with extraordinary vim. That was a mistake, — a 
mere optical illusion. He went as level as the flow of a 
smooth stream that is swift and deep. I cannot say what 

his pedigree was. 

171 



172 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

I have heard something of his having been got by a cer- 
tain horse ; but it is only hearsay, and of no value or author- 
ity. In 1835 he was brought to New York from the Eas- 
tern States, and offered for sale, being then five years old. 
Mr. Peter Barker, who owned Dutchman at the time, agreed 
to buy him , if he suited in a trial. They tried him on the 
Centreville Course in harness; and he made his mile, driven 
by Joel Conklin, in 2m. 46s., in great style. He was after- 
wards sold to Mr. George Weaver of Philadelphia, and 
went into the hands of James Hammil. Pipton' s first race 
was for a sweepstakes, in which Mount Holly and another 
were also engaged ; but the third did not start, and Pipton 
beat Mount Holly handily in two straight heats. Pipton 
then passed into the hands of George Youngs, who had very 
great celebrity as a rider and driver of trotting-horses, and 
deserved it all. He was one of the best horsemen that J. have 
ever known. Pipton was brought back to New York, and 
trotted over the Beacon Course, mile-heats, three in five, in 
harness, against Kate Kearney. Kate was a bay mare, 
about fifteen hands and an inch high. She belonged to Mr. 
Stacey Pitcher. Pipton won the first heat ; and then, after 
a good deal of consultation between the parties, they agreed 
to draw the race. The fact was, that Pipton was very high 
strung, and had run away with his driver a day or two be- 
fore. Pie had given some indications of an intention to 
bolt again, and they were shy of him. 

His next change was into the hands of Peter Whelan, 
the elder brother of my friend William. Peter, like George 
Youngs, was a capital rider and driver. I am told his 
brother thinks that he and I excelled Peter and George 
soon after, if not at that time ; but I have my doubts wheth- 
er anybody ever excelled either of them much, especially in 
the saddle. Peter Whelan died in Philadelphia in 1840, 
and Pipton was then sent to me. He was then ten years 
old, with all the requisites to make a very fine trotter, such 
as he afterwards became, but was not altogether then. I 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 173 

had had him some two months, and it was in summer time 
when I trotted him over the Beacon Course, two-mile heats, 
under saddle, against Mr. James McMann's Don Juan. 
The Don was a handsome chestnut gelding, fifteen hands 
two inches high, a stylish and fine-going horse. We got 
the start for the first heat. Ripton took the lead, was 
never headed, and won it with great ease in 5m. 19s. It 
seemed so certain, that the spectators thought he could not 
lose it, and odds of 100 to 5 were currently offered and laid. 
I remember the circumstances well, not only from the fact 
that it was the first time I had ever seen as much odds laid 
between two horses, but from the unexpected termination 
of the race. In the second heat I took the lead again, and 
it seemed all my own for a mile and a half. I then felt 
Eipton going to nothing between my knees. McMann and 
Don Juan passed us, and the latter won it handily in 5m. 
33s. ±tipton was much distressed ; and, believing that he 
had no chance to win, I drew him. 

Xow, this was a case showing the absolute necessity for a 
good deal of work and practice as a trotter to enable a horse 
to endure through two two-mile heats. Ripton was a horse 
past the age of constitutional maturity ; he was well in 
health, apparently in good bodily condition, and he was a 
game and stout horse ; but he had never been trotted much, 
and lacked the practice and seasoning which braces and har- 
dens the muscles, and enables the animal to endure. He 
was just like a horse trained over the flat for a steeple-chase, 
which always tires, no matter, how good his bodily condition 
may be, from the fact that the muscles which have to be 
violently exerted when he rises in his leaps have had no 
practice of that sort. It was a case which made a marked 
impression upon me at the time, and I afterwards found that 
the conclusions I had come to in regard to it were correct. 
Ripton was noted afterwards for his game and bottom, and 
also for requiring a great deal of work to bring him out fit 
for one of his best performances. 



174 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

In 1841 I took Bipton to Philadelphia, and trotted him 
over the Hunting-park Course, two-mile heats, in harness, 
against Dutchman, Confidence, and Spangle. Confidence 
was a very fine horse, — a handsome long-tailed bay, fifteen 
hands and an inch and a half high. He belonged to Mr. 
James Berry, of whose death recently in Cincinnati I was 
sorry to hear. Spangle was a horse fifteen hands and an 
inch high, and was so called because he was spotted. In 
this race, William Whelan drove Confidence, Hammii Dutch- 
man, George Woodruff Spangle, and I Bipton. Bipton won 
the first heat in 5m. 19s., Dutchman took the second, and 
the third was a dead-heat between him and Confidence. 
Spangle was now ruled out for not winning a heat in three ; 
and I drew Bipton, leaving Dutchman and Confidence to 
contend. The former won it. 

That summer I went to Saratoga with a stable of horses 
belonging to a well-known gentleman named Beach. On 
my return to New York in the fall, I borrowed Bipton of 
his owner, Mr. Thomas Moore of Philadelphia, and entered 
him in two sweep-stakes, two-mile heats in harness, with 
the brown mare Duchess and the roan gelding Quaker. 
The latter was a one-eyed horse, fifteen hands and an inch 
high. Duchess was a plain little mare, scant fifteen hands. 
The first of these stakes was to come off over the Hunting- 
park Course, Philadelphia, and the other in two weeks' time 
over the Beacon, New Jersey. At Philadelphia, Bipton 
won in two straight heats handily. At the Beacon he was 
the favorite against the field at small odds, and won again 
in two heats with ease. 

His next trot was at Philadelphia, in the winter of that 
year. It was in the month of December, over the Hunt- 
ing-park Course, four-mile heats under saddle, against a 
gray horse called Bevenge. William Woodruff rode Bip- 
ton. The course was very heavy, as was to be expected. 
Bipton won it in two heats. He wintered that season in 
Philadelphia, and came back to me in the spring. 



TEE TBOTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 175 

His first trot in 1842 was in May (just when the much 
talked-of match between Boston and Fashion was pending), 
and it was over the Beacon Course, two-mile heats in har- 
ness, against Confidence and Lady Suffolk. Whelan drove 
Confidence, Bryan Lady Suffolk, and I Bipton. Confi- 
dence was the favorite ; but Bipton won in two heats, in 5m. 
10^s. and 5m. 12^s. He won these heats very easily, and 
thus added much to his reputation. 

The following week the great four-mile race between 
Boston and Fashion came off over the Union Course. It 
was a regular carnival all over this part of the Island, and 
immense numbers of people attended. The sportsmen had 
come from all parts of the country to see this great race 
between the famous old horse and the Jersey mare. After 
it was over, and the mare had won, almost all the people 
proceeded to the Centreville Course, to see Lady Suffolk 
and Bipton trot two-mile heats in harness. At the start, 
he was the favorite at two to one, but the mare beat him. 
She won the first heat in 5m. 10s., and the second in 5m. 
15s., in good style. 

Bipton did not act as well as I could have wished and 
expected; and I was anxious to give the gray Lady of 
Suffolk another meeting, that same distance and way of 
going. In about six weeks or two months, I was afforded 
the opportunity. It was at the Hunting-park Course, 
Philadelphia, two-mile heats in harness, and Bipton and 
Lady Suffolk were the only ones in it. Bipton went away 
at score, and took the lead. He kept it throughout the 
two miles, and did the heat in the then unparalleled time 
of 5m. 7s. The accomplishment of this feat in harness 
caused a vast amount of interest and excitement among 
trotting-men. It was like that which sprung up when 
Flora Temple outdid herself, and morally distanced all that 
had gone before by making a mile in * harness below 2m. 
20s. When we started for the second heat, the odds were 
large on Bipton ; but he met with a mishap, and it was all 



176 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

that I could do to save his distance. The check-piece of 
the bit got into his mouth, and he couldn't trot. At one 
time he was a full distance behind the Lady ; but with a 
sudden jerk I drew the bit square in his mouth again, and 
got him to going time enough to save another start. The 
odds were now two to one on the Lady. 

The third heat was one of the closest and finest things, 
from end to end, that I have ever seen. That between 
Dutchman and Rattler, in their great race of four three- 
mile heats under saddle, was no nearer thing. At the start 
we went away together, and kept on almost neck and neck 
for the first mile. The second was just the same, — a cease- 
less fight all the way, every inch being contested, and 
neither having a shade the best of it to all appearance. A 
hundred yards from home they were head and head, and 
apparently doing all they knew. The struggle was tre- 
mendous, and they trotted as if their lives depended upon 
it. Bryan used the whip freely ; and now, close at home, I 
rallied Eipton with the bit, and called upon him for one 
final dash. The little horse answered the call very gal- 
lantly, and, amidst the most intense excitement of the spec- 
tators, beat her home just two feet. The gray mare fought 
for every inch, and stretched her neck like a wild goose on 
the wing; but the nose of the little bay horse was first 
past the post, and he got the heat and race. I do not think 
that I have ever seen a better race than this, which I have 
briefly described above. The time of the first heat has 
since been beaten by Flora Temple as much as sixteen 
seconds and a half; but in those days this performance by 
Bipton was considered very great, and was great. 

The observations I have made heretofore in regard to 
improved tracks, light vehicles, better training, higher 
breeding, and general advance in speed and speedy methods, 
will all have to be considered in this case. If Ripton had 
not got the check-piece of the bit into his mouth in the 
second heat, I believe he would have won this race easily. 



TIIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. Ill 

As it was, I had a deal of trouble to get him inside the 
distance. The third heat was a close struggle, and any- 
body's race every inch of the way. Suffolk tried her ut- 
most, and hung on to the last stride, like a dog to a root. 
It is not certain to my mind but that she might have won 
it, if Bryan had let his whip alone, and helped her out with 
the bit. I am of the persuasion, that, unless a horse is a 
real slug, the whip does more harm than good in a head- 
and-head struggle. Natural emulation then incites the 
horse to do all he knows in such circumstances ; and the 
business of the rider or driver is to aid his efforts and assist 
him, not to keep leathering away at him with the whip ; 
which is no aid at all, and is more likely to make him 
swerve, or give up in disgust. In a tight squeeze, with a 
generous horse, the bit is the thing to win with. 



12 



XX. 

Eipton, Brandy-wine, and Don Juan. — Ripton and Quaker. — Ripton and 
Spangle. — Ripton, Lady Suffolk, and Washington. — Ripton and Confi- 
dence. — Ripton and Americus. — Ripton's Performances in 1842 recapit- 
ulated. — Conclusion enforced. — Time wanted for Maturity. — Ripton 
required much Work. 

AT the close of the last chapter, I recounted the inci- 
dents of the race between Ripton and Lady Suffolk 
at Philadelphia, in which 5ni. 07s. was made by hirn in the 
first heat, which was the first time that mark had been 
made in harness. The time of the other heats was 5m. 
15s., 5m. 17s. Before proceeding further with the history 
of the famous little trotter Ripton, I shall make mention 
of several races which have since come to my recollection 
that occurred prior to the period at which he made the 5m. 07s. 
The first of these was a race against Lady Suffolk in the 
spring of 1841, mile-heats under saddle, over the Beacon 
Course. Bipton was defeated in the race, and I attributed 
it to his carrying extra weight. I rode him myself, and, 
with the saddle, weighed a hundred and sixty-seven 
pounds. This was a trifle too much for the little white- 
legged horse ; and, after a tight race, the Lady beat us. 
Another race I had forgotten was one at two-mile heats 
under saddle, over the Beacon Course, against Brandywine 
and Don Juan. Brandywine was a black gelding, about 
fifteen and a half hands high. Isaac Woodruff rode him. 
William Whelan rode Don Juan, and William Woodruff 
Bipton. The latter won it in two heats. In this race Bip- 
ton trotted half a mile in lm. ll£s., which was then 
178 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 179 

thought an amazing thing. It does not appear upon the 
record, as a matter of course ; but the time was taken and 
immediately announced by so many careful and accurate 
gentlemen that there is no doubt about the fact ; and it is 
proper that it should be mentioned here. 

Two more races in 1841 have to be noticed. They both 
took place in Philadelphia, over the Hunting-park Course. 
The first of them was two-mile heats under saddle, for a 
purse of two hundred dollars, against the bay horse Quaker. 
The latter was a great bay gelding, seventeen hands high. 
Hammil rode him, and William Woodruff rode Ripton. 
The little horse defeated the big one in two straight heats. 
Late in December of that year, and when there was at 
least three inches of snow on the track, Ripton trotted two- 
mile heats in harness, against Spangle. George Youngs 
drove the latter ; and I drove Ripton, who won in two heats. 
I do not remember the time ; but I know it was slow, which 
was to be expected in that weather and on such a course. 

We are now in a position to resume our account of the 
doings in which the little horse was a chief actor in 1842, 
after the 5m. 07s. time in harness, which concluded the last 
chapter. The next succeeding race that year was in the 
latter part of June, over the Eagle Course, Trenton, New 
Jersey. It was two-mile heats in harness, Lady Suffolk 
and Washington being in with Ripton. In the first heat 
nothing particularly deserving mention occurred. I won 
it handily with the little horse in 5m. 16s., Lady Suffolk 
second. The odds had been large on Ripton after the first 
heat; and most of those who had taken them were very 
yociferous, and in ecstacies of delight ; but this did not 
last long. 

In the first mile of the second heat Ripton acted badly. The 
mare was a long way ahead at the end of it ; and, as Bryant 
passed the stand, he sung out at the top of his voice, " Can I 
distance him ? " There was such a shout of " Yes ! go on ! ; ' 
in reply, that it seemed as if the whole multitude had an- 



180 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

swered. Very soon after we rounded the turn in the second 
mile, Eipton got levelled, and began to trot in his fine, com- 
manding style. He gained fast on the mare, kept on going to 
her, and, about a hundred yards after they passed the half- 
mile pole gave her the go-by, and won the heat handily in 
5m. 18s. The excitement, as the little horse shut up the 
great gap, was intense ; and, at the end of the heat and 
race, Bryant was much disappointed. He declared that he 
would not trot Lady Suffolk against Eipton any more, 
unless it was under saddle. Early that fall, Eipton met 
Confidence, two-mile heats in harness, over the Centreville 
Course. We won it in two heats ; the time of them being 
5m. 13^s., and 5m. 14Js. 

The following week, they went over the same course 
again, two-mile heats to wagons, each weighing a hundred 
and eighty-one pounds. Eipton won the first heat in 5m. 
15s., and that was the fastest; but Confidence got the 
second and third heats. The weight was a trifle too much 
for the little horse, but we soon had our revenge. The next 
trot in which Eipton was engaged was a sweepstakes and 
purse to the amount of $1,150, on the Beacon Course j and 
Confidence was also in it, together with Lady Suffolk. It 
was three-mile heats in harness. Eipton won the first heat 
handily, in 7m. 56|s. The second heat he also took, and 
the time of that was 7m. 59s. It was, however, a closer 
thing for two miles between the three ; and the finish for 
second money, between Confidence and Lady Suffolk, was a 
very fine and near race. I recollect that I got home 
handily enough to turn round in the sulky and see the 
struggle, as they came out, for the second money. "William 
Whelan was driving Confidence, and a very little way from 
home Lady Suffolk appeared to have the best of it ; but 
Whelan shook his horse up, and came with such a rush that 
he beat her on the post by a neck. 

The next race we went with Eipton was over the same 
course. It was against Americus, two-mile heats to 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. I SI 

wagons. George Spicer drove Americus, who won it in 
two heats, the fastest of which was 5m. 14s. I believe that 
was the fastest two-mile time to wagons that had then been 
made. We went one more race that season with Ripton, 
and it was also over the Beacon Course. It was a match 
against Americus, three-mile heats, in harness, for $1,000 
a side. The interest felt in the match was large, and peo- 
ple generally-thought Americus would win it. The attend- 
ance on the course was very great. Americus was the 
favorite at the start at 100 to 60. In the first heat, Ripton 
went away, and, taking the lead, maintained it for two 
miles very handily ; but, in passing the stand to go into 
the third mile, he unfortunately struck his ankle. This 
caused him to fly up as if he had been shot ; and he acted 
so badly in the third mile that he was nearly distanced. I 
managed, however, to avoid that, and saved the right to 
start. Most people thought it was of no use, and the odds 
current on Americus was 100 to 5. Even at that rate the 
layers far outnumbered the takers. The latter were few 
and shy. 

Nevertheless, when I felt of Eipton in the second heat, 
and " put the question to hira," as much as to say, " Can 
you do it now ? " he said " Yes ! " So, coming up the 
stretch on the first mile, I took the lead with him : he was 
never afterwards headed in the heat, and won it handily. 
There was much excitement and some tribulation among 
those who had laid the long odds. ' Americus still had 
the call, the majority depending on his reputation as a horse 
of good bottom. I concluded that it would be best to make 
a waiting race of it, and so, at the word for the third heat, 
pulled behind and trailed. Here I kept for two miles. On 
passing the stand the second time, Eipton began to pull very 
hard ; and the purchase of my foot against the iron of the 
sulky was so powerful that it parted, and the end going for- 
ward, struck Eipton on the thigh. He gave a wild bound, 
and I came very near going overboard. I managed to save 



182 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

myself, however ; and, putting my foot under the iron, 1 
bent it back, so that it did not touch the horse. I got him 
down to his work, and still continued to trail to the half- 
mile pole. I was satisfied then, from the way Ripton was 
going, that the race was safe ; and, pulling out, I challenged 
Americus to come along and trot for it. He was not quite 
willing. As I came up to his head he broke ; and, passing 
him, I won the heat with ease, and so got the race. The 
layers and losers of the great odds were sorely tried by 
this result, which was a very good ending to the per- 
formances of the little horse in that year. Ripton then left 
•my charge, and was taken back to Philadelphia ; prior to 
which, however, three matches had been made for him to 
trot in the following spring. They were against Americus, 
for $1,000 a side each, three mile heats, two-mile heats, and 
mile-heats, three in five. 

But, before we take leave of Ripton' s performances in 
1842, it will be interesting and useful' to recapitulate them, 
so that their quality and amount may be taken in at a 
glance and appreciated. He trotted then, in that year, as 
follows : two-mile heats in harness, which he won in two 
heats, beating Confidence and Lady Suffolk ; two-mile 
heats in harness, which he won in three heats, beating 
Lady Suffolk ; two-mile heats in harness, which he won in 
two heats, beating Lady Suffolk and Washington ; two- 
mile heats in harness, which he won in two heats, beating 
Confidence; two-mile heats to wagons of 1811bs., which 
Confidence won in three heats ; three-mile heats in harness, 
which Ripton won in two heats, beating Confidence and 
Lady Suffolk ; two-mile heats to wagons, which Americus 
won in two heats ; three-mile heats in harness, which Rip- 
ton won in three heats, beating Americus. Here were six 
races of two-mile heats, and two of three-mile heats. Four 
of those at two-mile heats Ripton won, and both of those at 
three-mile heats he won. The two he lost were to wagons. 
He trotted fourteen two-mile heats and five three-mile heats 
in that season, and of these he won thirteen. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 183 

I have recapitulated these facts for the purpose of using 
them to enforce the theory I have laid down, to the effect 
that the trotter, if he is going to be a superior one, needs a 
long time to mature. It will be recollected, that, when I 
first trotted E-ipton two-mile heats under saddle against 
Don Juan, he died away to nothing in my hands in the last 
mile of the second heat, when the race seemed to be all his 
own. But, with three years more of work and practice, he 
had acquired stamina to make such a season as I have re- 
lated, and to put a fitting climax to it by beating Americus 
in a race of three three-mile heats, winning the second and 
third heats after the odds of twenty to one had been current 
against him. He had been all the time " a-coming," as we 
horsemen say ; and it was only now that he could be said to 
have reached maturity as a trotting-horse. Yet he was fast 
when young and green ; for, as I have said, when he was 
brought here at five years old, never having been on a track 
in all probability, he trotted a mile in harness in a trial 
driven by Joel Conkling, in 2m. 46s. That does not sound 
so fast now ; but this was just thirty years ago, and it was a 
very great performance for the young horse, under all the 
circumstances. It was seven years from that time before 
he made the season of 1842, the trotting of which I have 
related. He was then twelve years old, and had only then 
come to his best and greatest stoutness as a trotter. In 
fact, it was this continual increase of staying power that 
made him so formidable, and enabled him to win three-mile 
heats against such a bottom horse as Americus, when it was 
deemed by the great majority that he had no chance, and a 
hundred to five was the current odds against him. 

E-ipton also affords a fine example of another thing I 
have endeavored to impress upon the mind of the reader, 
viz., the great difference there is in the amount of work and 
general treatment required by different horses. Any man 
who pretends to lay down fixed rules for work and feed in 
training is either a fool or an impostor, and very likely 



184 THE TROTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 

both. The most that can be done is to furnish general 
principles, the application of which to particular cases is to 
be left to the judgment of the individual. Ripton, of all the 
horses that I have ever had, was one of those that required 
the most work. He was so resolute and game, and his spirits 
were so high, that, if not kept down by a good deal of steady 
work, he was almost certain to run away as soon as he was 
suffered to go fast. "With the work most horses require, he 
would have been almost or quite unmanageable. It was so 
when George Youngs had him in his youth ; and it was so 
still in his old age, when he was broken down and had been 
withdrawn from the turf. There was no vice about the 
little horse ; but the exuberance of his spirits was such, when 
he was at all indulged, that he would run away out of mere 
fun. 



XXI. 

Bipton's Three Matches with Americus. — Ripton in Mud. — Ripton in Snow, 
— Sleighing on the Harlem Road. — Ripton and Confidence. — Owner's 
instructions. — An Old Horse to be kept Warm between Heats. — Match 
with Bay Boston. 

AFTER Ripton's arduous and successful season, at the 
close of 1842, ending with his victory over Americus 
in the great race of three-mile heats, he went into winter 
quarters at his owner's, Mr. Moore of Philadelphia ; and when 
the time came to prepare him for his three matches with 
Americus, three-mile, two-mile, and mile heats, in harness, he 
went into the hands of George Youngs. The first of these 
races was the one at three-mile heats, which came off early 
in May, on a Monday. The others followed after intervals 
of a week. They were all trotted on the Beacon Course. 
The three-mile heat race was won in two heats by Eipton ; 
the fastest of the two being 7m. 53^s. Next week, at the 
two-mile heats, it was the same. Ripton won handily in 
two heats, having taken the lead at the start in each, 
and never being headed in either of them. The next week 
came the mile and repeat race. The track was very heavy, 
and the odds large on Ripton. They went sloshing along 
through the mud ; and the little white-legged horse won 
with ease in two heats, the best of which was 2m. 38s. 

I may here observe that Ripton was one of the best mud- 
horses I have ever seen. From his general characteristics, 
one would scarcely have supposed that he would go dashing 

185 



186 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

along through the mud when his stroke was throwing it all 
over him, and the spats were hitting him under the belly 
almost in shovelfuls. But so it was. In snow, too, he was 
capital, — without any exception, the very best sleigh-horse 
that I ever pulled a rein over, and I have driven many of 
uncommon excellence. Next to Bipton, Gray Eagle was 
the best horse for snow that I have ever known. It made 
but little difference to the former whether the sleighing was 
good or indifferent, for he would go through icy water and 
slush as if he liked it ; but it made a great difference to the 
driver. 

Our principal sleighing-place was from the pavement to 
Harlem Bridge, along the road ; and many a time I have 
driven Bipton the length of it at wonderful speed. Great 
fun, sleigh-riding, when the air is keen and frosty, the sky 
clear, the snow deep and crisp, and you can dash along at a 
rate down in the thirties with confidence that your trotter 
will hold out to the end. Bipton was one of these, — the 
best of them, the King of the Sleighers ! What a peal his 
bells would ring as he dashed down Yorkville Hill, pound- 
ing away with those white legs of his as if he would strike 
down to the ground, no matter how well packed and deep 
the snow might lie. Here would be a group at this house, 
and another at that, taking their hot toddy to keep the 
cold out ; and as they heard the swift shaking of the bells, 
and the fast stroke of Bipton's feet like a charge beat upon 
the drum, they would run to the door and windows, and 
crowd the stoop, and cry " Hallo ! here comes Hiram and 
the white-legged pony ! " It's more than twenty years ago 
since those times ; and there is no jingling of the sleigh- 
bells there now, no matter how good and deep the snow 
may be. The street railroads have done for all that. 

After these three races of which I have spoken, Bipton 
went into William Whelan's hands, and was entered in a 
purse to be trotted for on the Beacon Course. But, prior to 
the day of action, something became the matter with one 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 187 

of the little horse's hind-legs, and he had to pay forfeit. 
At first it was feared that he would break down if put in 
strong work again ; but the leg got better, and he came back 
to me. After some little time, but still that same season, 
we matched him against Confidence ; Bipton to pull a wagon, 
and the former to go in harness, mile heats, three in five, 
for §1,000 a side, on the Beacon Course. It will be re- 
membered that Mr. Berry declared that some time before, 
at the close of a race in which we beat Confidence and 
Lady Suffolk with Hip ton, that Confidence should -not trot 
with the little horse in harness again. So we agreed to 
pull a wagon. 

The match came off on a fine fall day in September, and 
there was a very large attendance. Everybody was pleased 
to see the old and well-tried favorite, Bipton, on the course 
again, and able to contend for the specie. He was not in 
the best of fix, though ; for he still had a game leg, which 
made it a dangerous race for him, to say nothing of his 
going to wagon while Confidence was in harness. But, for 
all that, the people laid odds on him ; and Jack Harrison, 
who had made the match, backed him for a large amount. 
Prior to the start, he and Mr. Moore gave me instructions 
how to drive the race. My own opinion differed from theirs ; 
but finding them very confident, and obstinate in their 
notions, I started out to do as they said. It was upon the 
old principle and maxim of the sailor, " Obey orders, if it 
breaks owners ! " The result was not favorable. Confi- 
dence won the first heat in 2m. 35^s., and the next in 2m. 
37s. Everybody now thought it was as good as over ; and 
the long odds of one hundred to five on Confidence were 
freely offered, and no takers. At the close of the second heat, 
I remarked to Mr. Moore and Jack Harrison that their 
method did not seem to answer. "Well," said they, 
" you've no chance to win it now, so do as you please." 

But there was a chance, and I knew it. The first thing 
I did was to change the wagon. The one I had been driv- 



188 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

ing was a very nice one, which had been built by Mr. Joseph 
Godwin, and only weighed 741bs. It had got doubled up, 
principally from Eipton's hard pulling in the first and second 
heats. In order to change it, I borrowed a wagon of Fred. 
Johnson, and that only weighed four pounds more than the 
other. These two were the earliest of the very light wag- 
ons : there was not another like them at that time. Instead 
of letting Eipton cool out, I just took him out of one wag- 
on and put him into the other, and jogged him up and down 
the backstretch until it was time for the next heat. When 
a horse is old and a little crippled, it does not answer to let 
him get cool and stiff between the heats. I like to keep 
such an one warm and limber. The previous exertion, by 
starting the circulation and setting up violent action all 
through the system has counteracted, for the time being, 
the stiffness, soreness, and lameness which are in a measure 
chronic ; and, this being so, it seems to me advisable to keep 
steam up a little during the interval between heats. Hav- 
ing kept Eipton jogging until we were called up for the 
third heat, I gave him a sharp brush of half a mile prepara- 
tory to it. In the course of that enlivening brush, I cut him 
with the whip twice pretty hard ; and he went away from it 
like a bullet. This was the first and last time that I ever 
whipped the little horse, except in the finish of a heat. He 
was the last horse in the world to want it, save in the nip 
and tuck of a long and desperate race. His style of going 
was very free and determined, head up and tail right on end 
over his quarters, and cutting through the air with a sharp 
swish as he worked it from side to side, just as a fighting- 
dog does his when he lias got a punishing-hold. 

Eipton was now boiling hot and well settled. At the first 
coming up, we got the word ; and, shooting him out, I took 
the pole from Spicer before we had gone seventy-five yards. 
Of course Eipton had now a good lead ; and, trotting in his 
old style, he was never headed, and won the heat easily in 
2m. 38s. Such a shout as there was when the little horse 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 189 

came slashing in ahead was never hardly heard on any other 
occasion at the Beacon. Jack Harrison hugged me, and 
tossed his hat up in the air. The odds swung right over. 
It had heen a hundred to five, and no takers, on Confidence ; 
and now a hundred men shouted all together, " A hundred 
to fifty on Bipton ! " 

Again I kept the little horse jogging until it was time to 
start. He won the fourth heat, taking the lead at the start, 
and not being headed in it. The time of it was 2m. 39s. 
The fifth heat was a mere repetition of the fourth. Bipton 
won it easily in 2.41. This was the second race that he had 
won against odds of one hundred to five ; and, at this dis- 
tance of time, I say, with all confidence and without egotism, 
that he would not have won it but for the decided " persua- 
sion " he got between the second and third heats. The 
horse was old and partly crippled, and it don't answer to go 
to coddling with such a one when the race is in hand. He 
had to have something to wake him up, and let him know 
that real business was to be transacted, and he must " do or 
die," as the saying is. 

A word here may not be out of place in reference to in- 
structions from owners or backers of horses to drivers. If 
the horse is strange to the driver, the latter is in need of all 
the instructions the other parties, who are supposed to know 
something, can give. But it commonly happens that the 
driver knows the horse quite as well, and a little better, than 
they do ; and, furthermore, he generally knows something 
of the opposing horses in the race, which is a very material 
consideration in determining the method which ought to be 
pursued. In this case of Bipton's, and in that in which I 
drove Brince the chestnut horse against Hero the pacer 
ten miles, the horses could not have won if the instructions 
I received had been carried out to the end. Yet the gentle- 
men who gave them had experience in such matters, and 
were rather remarkable for sagacity, than the reverse. It 
ought to be considered that the instructing of a driver in a 



190 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

trotting-race is a very different matter to the giving of 
orders to a boy in a running-race. The driver is always a 
man, with the experience that a man may possess in that 
profession. He has also commonly trained the horse, and 
therefore knows his peculiarities and disposition; that is, 
he ought to know them. It follows that, in most cases, in- 
structions to the driver are unnecessary if not mischievous. 
As to whether the driver ought to follow them when ho 
thinks them wrong, is a difficult question. But, if I am 
convinced that they are wrong, I either disregard the in- 
structions when the pinch comes, or refuse to drive the horse. 
My business as a driver is to win races ; and if I know, as 
well as I can know any thing beforehand, that a certain 
method pointed out is not the way to win, but to lose, I just 
follow the instructions as long as it answers and until I can 
see a chance to do better. This trot with Confidence was 
the last Bipton was engaged in that year, 1843. He started 
only four times that season, and won all the races. 

In the following year he remained at Philadelphia with 
his owner, Mr. Moore, and did not trot in public at all. In 
1845 he was brought to New York in the spring, but fell 
lame 4 and was sent back to Philadelphia again. He soon 
got right, and was trotted against Americus, mile heats, 
three in five, in harness, over the Hunting-park Course, 
Philadelphia. The race came off in the first week of June, 
and was a very good one of five heats. Of these, Bipton 
won the first, second, and fifth ; Americus winning the third 
and fourth. So Bipton got the race, and purse of $200. 
The time was 2.40, 2.38, 2.39, 2.41, 2.45. In the 
September of that year I was living at Boston, and made a 
match for $500, half forfeit, for Bipton to trot two-mile 
heats, in harness, against Bay Boston, a horse fifteen hands 
three inches high, over the Cambridge Course. Having 
made this match, I sent to Philadelphia for the horse, and 
they started with him. On the way they stopped at New 
York, and trotted him for a purse of $300, two-mile heats 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 191 

in harness, on the Union Course. His opponents were 
Duchess driven by William Whelan, and Americus by 
George Spicer. A. Ten Eyck, formerly and better known 
as Brominy, drove Ripton. The mare won the first heat, 
Americus took the second, and Duchess was distanced for 
foul driving. Several spokes were knocked out of Ripton's 
wheel. Americus won the third heat and race. Immedi- 
ately after this race, Ripton was sent on to me ; but I found, 
the first time I drove him, that he was lame in the hind-leg 
again, and not likely to stand the work and race. I there- 
fore compromised the match by paying something, and sent 
the little horse home to Philadelphia. 



XXII. 

Ripton and Lady Sutton. — Lady Sutton and Lady Moscow. — Death of 
Lady Moscow. — Her Burial-place. — Her Produce. — Horses she trotted 
against. — Ripton and Lady Suffolk. — Eipton, Sorrel Ned, and Snake. 
— Ripton and Jersey. — Ripton's Last Race. 

AFTER I sent Eipton back from Boston with this second- 
ary lameness in the hind-leg, it was a good while 
before he was fit to trot again. A long rest, however, did 
a great deal for him ; and in 1847 we deemed him well 
enough to trot a race of two-mile heats in harness, on the 
Centreville Course, for $1,000 a side, against Lady Sutton. 
The Lady was a little brown mare, about fourteen hands 
and three inches high, stoutly made, and with much speed 
and good bottom. She is the only one of Eipton' s old 
opponents that is yet alive ; and she may be seen here any 
day, as gay as a lark for an old one, as I shall presently 
show. In the race which took place in November, James 
Whelpley drove the mare, and I drove Eipton. The Lady 
took the first heat after a stout struggle, and then they laid 
two to one on her. But I was satisfied that little white 
legs had yet plenty of trot in him, and resolved to do my 
utmost to get it out. The second heat was desperately con- 
tested. For the last half mile the horses were neck-and- 
neck, doing all they knew under the whip. It was a very 
close thing, and a dozen strides from home seemed to be 
anybody's heat ; but the old horse lasted the longest, and, 
lifting him with the bit in the last stride or two, I landed 
him before her by three feet. 

There was very little to choose between them now, and 
193 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 193 

we prepared for the deciding heat. The mare was young 
and fresh, the horse old and stiff, and she had the call in 
the betting. At the word, she made a rush for the lead, 
took the pole, and went on ahead for a mile and three- 
quarters. At the last turn, on swinging into the stretch, she 
took the centre of the track, leaving the privilege of the 
inside to Ripton. I took it, and, giving him a sound cut or 
two with the whip, challenged her for the heat and race. 
Another desperate struggle ensued. Both were whipped at 
nearly every stride they took, and both answered the call 
with the utmost gallantry. The mare had a little the best 
of it till we were close at home, but Ripton' s perseverance 
at last prevailed. He got to her head, and finally succeeded 
in beating her two feet in one of the finest finishes ever 
witnessed on that course. The time of this race was 5m. 
15s., 5m. 15s., 5m. 18s. 

As I observed just now, Lady Sutton may be seen here 
any day. She returned to the Island last spring, after a 
long absence, to be put to New- York Ledger, by whom, I 
believe, she is now in foal. Here, in John I. Snedicor's 
pasture, she had a fond companion, until within these few 
hours, in her old opponent, Lady Moscow, another very 
famous mare of her own age, or it may be a year older. 
When these two old competitors met in the pasture after never 
having seen each other for many years, it seemed as if a 
mutual recognition took place. Go by when you would, you 
would see the two little old mares close together, graziDg 
aloof from the other horses in the pasturage. They both 
throve amazingly, and got young agtiin to all appearance, 
in their companionship. When anybody went near them, 
they would throw up their heads together, and stride a trot, 
like a spark of the fire of other days. Each had done a 
vast amount of hard work, and their years put together 
made almost or quite half a century. Lady Moscow looked 
the younger of the two, but she has gone first. She was 

13 



194 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

taken with a sort of paralysis on Wednesday night, and 
died Saturday, Sept. 9, in the afternoon. The seat of 
the disease was the base of the brain, and all the veterin- 
ary art in the world would have been insufficient to save 
her. She was buried on the Union Course, in the spot where 
Young Dutchman, George M. Patchen, and other famous 
trotters, lie. She belonged to my old friend Sim. Hoagland, 
and died within a stone's throw of the spots where he saw 
the last of Lady Blanche, the first foal that Abdallah got, 
and of his stallion Gray Messenger, whose produce has 
turned out so well. So we shall add to the relics we possess 
of Abdallah, Messenger, etc., some mementoes of this good 
old mare. Dr. Pilgrim is to have her near fore-leg. I am 
glad to say that Lady Moscow leaves a very promising repre- 
sentative in her son, the young gray stallion Privateer, 
who divides Sim's love and admiration with his half-brother, 
New- York Ledger. 

As we stood there on the green hillside, looking at the mare 
that lay dead before us, it was really touching to see poor old 
Sutton, wandering round her dead companion, as if unable 
to make out what had befallen. Two other mares were near 
at hand ; but Sutton did not seem to notice them at all^ her 
gaze being fixed from time to time on her whose sinews were 
relaxed and whose hoofs at last are still. In her time she 
trotted successfully with Lady Sutton, Lady Suffolk, Jack 
Bossiter, Moscow, Americus, Pelham, Mac, Trustee, Con- 
fidence, Vermont, Zachary Taylor, and many others. She 
has been reported dead once or twice, but four days ago she 
was alive and well. A year or two since, somebody pre- 
tended to have her at St. Louis ; but she was all the time 
in this State, owned by Sim. Hoagland. The man who pre- 
tended that he had her West was an impostor. 

To return to Eipton, after these few words about the old 
mares who were on the turf with him. Very late that 
year, Dec. 28, the little horse trotted a race of two-mile 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 195 

heats in harness on the Union Course, against Lady Suffolk. 
The Lady won in two heats, — 5m. 18 l-2s., and 5m. 25 l-2s. 
This concluded 1847. In 1848 and 1849, Eipton did 
not trot, but remained at Philadelphia, and was driven on 
the road by his owner. In the fall of 1850, it was deemed 
proper to bring him out again ; and he was entered in a 
purse at the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, with 
Sorrel Ned and the brown gelding Smoke. It was mile- 
heats, three in five, in harness. George Youngs drove Sorrel 
Ned ; 0. Dimmick, Smoke ; and William King, Eipton. It 
was on the 11th of October, and a trot of five heats took 
place for the money. Eipton won the first heat in 2m. 40s., 
and was second to Sorrel Ned in 2m. 39s. for the second. 
Smoke got the third, in 2m. 38s. ; and Sorrel Ned won the 
fourth and fifth, in 2m. 43s. and 2m. 47s. 

Eipton was not in good condition for this race, having 
had but little work. He was now nineteen years old, and 
had accumulated fat inside. As he had always required 
a great deal of work to make him fit, the brief preparation 
for this race was not enough. But, believing that about three 
weeks more would bring him to tune, they matched him 
against Sorrel Ned for $1,000, to trot over the same course, 
mile-heats, three and five, in harness, on the 4th of 
November. George Youngs drove Ned, and William King 
handled Eipton. At the start, the old horse was the 
favorite at slight odds. He won the first heat by a length 
in 2m. 42s., and his friends began to sport their money with 
confidence. But, as Sorrel Ned had only been beaten a 
length, his friends were not much disheartened; and they 
took the odds offered by the Eipton party quite freely. 

The second heat was well contested by Eipton; but 
Ned won it under the whip, in 2m. 42s. again. The betting 
was now even, and both sides a little anxious. The old 
horse was stiff and a trifle lame ; but his backers relied up- 
on his fine pluck and sound bottom to pull him out victori- 



196 THE TROTTING-IIOnSE OF AMERICA. 

ous from among the pieces of the broken heats. The third 
heat Eipton won ; and, singularly enough, the time was 2m. 
42s. again. The old horse was now a strong favorite at two 
to one, but still the takers were rather abundant. They 
started for the fourth heat, and there was much breaking 
and running on both sides. At the outcome they were 
both trotting, and crossed the score neck-and-neck, making 
a dead heat of it in 2m. 44s. The drivers now charged 
each other with foul driving, and a good deal of crimination 
and recrimination ensued. The judges ordered them to get 
ready, and trot the race out. The fifth heat was won by 
Sorrel Ned in 2m. 46s., and it was nearly dark when they 
finished it. 

By the time they were called up for the sixth heat, it was 
so dark that the judges could hardly see a man across the 
course. Sorrel Ned's friends declared that Kipton was the 
best runner of the two, and asked for the appointment of 
patrol judges. Thereupon, the judges sent out ten men, 
with instructions to post themselves at various points around 
the course, and take notice whether the horses were trotting 
or running when they passed them. This was the best that 
could be done under the circumstances ; but it was pretty 
clear that there would be a variance and dispute in the re- 
ports of these patrol judges, and how their differences were 
to be reconciled might well bother everybody. From the 
start the horses went away together, and soon disappeared 
from the eyes of the judges, who saw no more of them until 
they came home. ■ At the outcome, Ripton was a length 
ahead on a trot, and Sorrel Ned ran over the score. The 
time of the heat was 2m. 47s., and both drivers complained 
of foul driving on the part of the opposer. 

The patrol judges came, and made their reports : some de- 
clared that E-ipton had passed them on a run, while Ned 
was trotting. Others gave in the reverse as the fact when 
the horses went by where they were stationed. The one at 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 197 

the third quarter had been knocked down, run over, and con- 
siderably injured by Ripton ; and I should say with the 
English jury, when the judge told them that the assault 
was proved, and the plaintiff was a- great sufferer by the 
battery, " sarved him right." What business had he on the 
track, in the way of the horses. The judges heard all sides, 
and deliberated, and finally concluded that the evidence was 
too conflicting to warrant a decision either way : all bets 
must be declared off, and the main stakes drawn. 

This was not Ripton's last regular race on the course. He 
belonged at the time to a gentleman named William Mc- 
Cray of Philadelphia. Although he was nearly twenty 
years old, I still had a great fondness for Ripton, and went 
on and bought him. I gave $250 and another horse. In 
the following winter he was put up at a raffle for $1,000. 
The tickets were disposed of, and the raffle came off at the 
Union Hotel, Broadway. Mr. Samuel Isaacs won, and so 
Ripton became his property. He did not keep the old horse 
long, but sold him to John Ryerson of Patterson, !N". J. 
Here he was worked on the road. 

In the following year, they matched Ripton to go two 
races under saddle against a horse called Jersey. They 
were half-mile heats, and were trotted in the lane at Patter- 
son. I believe the old horse lost one, and won one. In the 
July of 1852, Mr. Ryerson brought him to the Island, and 
entered him in a purse of mile-heats, three in five, on the 
Centreville Course. George Rayner's chestnut gelding Se- 
lim and my mare Boston Girl were also in it. Ripton was 
hardly in condition for the company. His day was almost 
done ; and he was distanced in the first heat, which Selim 
won in 2m. 35s. ; and this ended his public career. He was 
afterwards taken to the western part of the State, I believe ; 
and there was a report' current, some years after that, that 
he broke a leg and had to be shot. By that time the coun- 
try swarmed with Riptons. You might find them trotting 



1S8 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

on the Island, at Albany, and as far west as St. Louis ; and 
there were besides a number of Young Eiptons and Rip- 
tons, jun. But there were none like the old horse, the gay- 
heart of the course, when he used to come tramping on with 
his tail right on end, and dashing down his white legs in the 
style that showed they meant real business. 



xxm. 

Ability to pull Weight considered. — Form best calculated for it. — Mere 
Bulk useless. — Long Striders seldom Weight-pullers. — Kemble Jackson. 
— Description of him. — Kemble Jackson and Washington. — Kemble 
Jackson and the Nelson Colt. — Kemble Jackson and Black Harry. — 
Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Lady Brooks, and Pelham. — Kemble Jack- 
son, Mountain Maid, and Flash. — The Kemble-Jackson Check. — 
Kemble Jackson, O'Blenis, Pet, Iola, Boston Girl, and Honest John. 

AS the'development and improvement of the fast trotter 
has exerted, and must continue to exert, a vast in- 
fluence upon the general horse-stock of the country, used 
for road-purposes, it is necessary to consider another qualifi- 
cation besides those of speed and bottom. A horse may be 
fast on the course before a light sulky, just as a running- 
horse may be very speedy for a mile with about a hundred 
pounds on his back, but not calculated for general use on 
the road, or to improve the common road-stock as a stallion. 
The ability to pull weight is a quality of exceeding value ; 
and, when it is found in connection with speed and stoutness, 
we may safely say that the three prime characteristics of 
the harness-horse are obtained. It is to be remembered that 
the ability of which I speak is that which can pull at a 
great rate ; so that putting on extra weight, up to a reason- 
able point, shall make no very great difference in the per- 
formance of the trotter. Almost any horse can pull a 
moderate weight at a slow pace, on a good road ; but those 
that can take along about four hundred pounds, and keep 
the pace good for two or three miles, are, and always have 
been, rather scarce. 

199 



200 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

There is a great difference in the ability of fast trotters 
in this respect ; and the common notion that a great bulky 
horse is best calculated to $o so is a fallacious one. For a 
draught-horse, great size and bulk, to throw an immense 
steady strain into the collar, may be valuable ; but, when the 
weight is to be taken along at a great rate, other things arc 
of more importance than mere size. In the first place, then, 
as to height, I do not think that a tall horse has any advan- 
tage in this regard over one of about fifteen hands and an 
inch, or fifteen hands two inches high. The tall horse is apt 
to be leggy ; and his height often comes from extra length 
in the canon bones, which multiplies no power. Length 
in the arms, shoulders, thighs, and haunches is a different 
matter. It follows that the extra height of the horse may 
be rather a disadvantage than the reverse, in regard to pull- 
ing weight at a fast rate. 

Mere bulk is also useless. Everybody must have seen 
horses big enough to pull a ton, to look at, and able to trot 
very fast in a sulky, or to a skeleton wagon, but unable to 
act to advantage to three or four hundred pounds. The 
weight-pullers, as a general rule, are of medium size, with 
a fine, quick stroke, not over long, and they bend the knee 
well. They need to be spirited goers, keeping well up to 
their work all the time ; and, unless their temper and pluck 
are both good, they will sulk, or give up from faint-hearted- 
ness, when they feel the weight, and the speed begins to tell. 
But though mere bulk is useless for the purpose, a fair 
amount of substance is required ; and it will be found in 
nearly every case, that, though the weight-puller may not 
have a large frame, he possesses a large muscular develop- 
ment. Long striders are seldom good at weight. Being 
greatly extended, with a load behind to be pulled along, 
they are unable to recover, and shove their haunches in 
quick, without extra exertion, under which they soon tire. 
Here they more than lose in time of stroke what they gain 
in space, and loiter, as it were, in their action. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 201 

There are, however, some few exceptions to this ; and one 
or two of the most notable I shall mention farther on. The 
same thing happens, but I think in a smaller degree, to a 
long-striding running-horse going in mud. Between twelve 
and thirteen years ago, there was a race of three-mile heats 
on the Union Course, in which six of the best fast weight- 
pulling trotters that ever were seen were engaged. It was 
a sweepstakes with a purse added, and amounted in all to 
$4,000. The winner of that race, Keinble Jackson, was 
the best weight-puller and long-distance horse combined 
that I ever trained and drove ; and as I believe that quite 
as much is to be gained by reciting the lessons of experi- 
ence as laying down theory, I shall recount his brief per- 
formances on the trotting-turf, and give some account of 
this his last and greatest race. Besides, his case is of great 
importance m another point of view ; for, although a trotter 
of remarkably fine speed and power, he was such a bad 
breaker, and had such a singular knack of sticking his head 
down between his knees when he did break, that at first he 
was beaten by horses much inferior to himself in speed and 
bottom. 

Kemble Jackson was a chestnut stallion, with a white 
hind-foot. He was by Andrew Jackson, a grandson of the 
imported Barbary horse Grand Bashaw. Kemble's dam 
was a good trotting-mare, whose pedigree is not known. He 
was fifteen hands three inches high, a compact horse, of 
good substance, but not great weight, and he had a plump, 
muscular development. He belonged to Mr. B-eynolds of 
New York ; and his first appearance in public was at the 
Centreville Course, Long Island, on the 12th of December, 
1850, when he was matched three-mile heats, to 2501b. 
wagon, against Washington. This was a severe race at 
that season of the year, and the track was very heavy. 
Whelpley drove Kemble Jackson ; and Joel Conkling, 
Washington. The latter won it in two heats of 9m. 
12s., 9m. 10s. 



202 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

The next season, in April, Kemble Jackson was matched 
against the Nelson colt, three-mile heats in harness, for 
$500 a side. It was the first trot that spring on the Union 
Course, and the track was very heavy. Kemble Jackson 
won it in two heats, 9m. 06s., 8m. 49s. On the 20th of Oc- 
tober following, he fulfilled another match. It was three- 
mile heats to 2501b. wagons, against Black Harry, for $1000 
a side, and was trotted on the Union Course. James Whelp- 
ley drove the stallion ; and George Nelson, Black Harry. The 
latter won it in 8m. 38s., 8m. 41s. In 1852, Kemble trotted 
but one race. This came off on the 28th of October, on the 
Union Course. It was three-mile heats in harness, for a 
purse of $500, $100 to the second horse. O'Blenis, Kem- 
ble Jackson, Lady Brooks, and Pelham were in it ; and they 
ended in the order named. O'Blenis won in two heats, and 
Pelham was distanced. Kemble Jackson secured second 
money. The time was 8m. 52s., 8m. 53s. In the spring 
of 1853, Kemble was in the hands of Charles Brooks, and 
made his first trot on the Centreville Course, April 21, for 
a purse of $150, mile heats. 

In 1853, in April, Kemble Jackson came out again, and 
trotted mile-heats, best three in five, to wagons, against J. 
Nodine's chestnut mare Mountain Maid, and a bay gelding 
called Flash. Mountain Maid won the first heat in 2m. 
47s., and the second in 2m. 50s. The stallion was second 
in these heats, driven by Charles Brooks j and I was then 
asked by Mr. Reynolds to get in and drive him. I did so, 
and won the third heat in 2m. 34s. The fourth heat was 
dead between Kemble and Mountain Maid, in 2m. 36s., and 
the fifth she won. 

The stallion was then sent to me to be handled ; and, in 
order to prevent him from throwing down his head between 
his knees when he broke, the well-known Kemble-Jackson 
check, since in use all over this country, and introduced in 
England also, was invented. It answered well in this case, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 203 

and must always be of great use in similar ones; but I 
think it is often applied in cases where it is not only un- 
necessary, but does harm instead of good. The stallion was 
yet wild and uncertain, though capable of fine speed and 
up to great weight. A stake was opened for a race of three- 
mile heats, to wagons of two hundred and fifty pounds, 
which, with the weight of the drivers, a hundred and forty- 
five, would make at least three hundred and ninety-five pounds 
to pull. It was to be trotted on the Union Course on the 
1st of June, 1853, to be $500 each, and the course to add 
$1,000. Six entered; the five competitors we had to look 
to meet being O'Blenis, Boston Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest 
John. This was goodly company. 

O'Blenis was a bay gelding by Abdallah, got when that 
famous old horse was in Kentucky. He was sixteen hands 
high, and an uncommon good, game horse. He was a long 
strider ; but for all that was up to weight, could pull it at a 
great rate, go a long distance, and stay heats. This charac- 
ter, and he deserved it all, made him the favorite against 
the field for the stake. George Abrahams trained and 
drove him. Boston Girl was a bay mare, fifteen hands two 
inches. I do not know her pedigree. Fish & Raymond 
owned her. She was a strong mare, with fine, bold action, 
and a desperate hard puller. John Nelson trained and 
drove her. Pet was a bay gelding, about fifteen hands and 
an inch. He was a finely-turned horse, well made, and a 
very handsome, square trotter. Henry Jones had him. 
Iola was a brown mare, sixteen hands high. She was rangy 
and blooklike in appearance, with fine trotting action. 
Charles Brooks drove her. Honest John was a bay gelding, 
with fine white legs and a narrow stripe on the face. He 
was sixteen hands high, and a fine, rangy-going horse. 
George Spicer had him, and drove him in the race. It closed 
about five weeks before the day of trotting ; and long before 
that time I had got Kemble steadier, and he had gradually 



204 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

come so that he would stand forcing without breaking This 
was not all done by coaxing. Although he was a very In- 
spirited horse, he got one or two severe lessons in the course 
of his training. A little whalebone and whipcord is some- 
times very beneficial, but it takes care and judgment to find 
out when to apply it. 



XXIV. 

O'Blenis against the Field. — Immense Attendance at the Eace. — Expecta- 
tions that Kemble would break. — His Great Victory. — His Early Death. 
— Weight-pulling Mares. — Lady Palmer. — Peerless. — California Dam- 
sel. — English Theory about Trotting- Weight. 

THE race before alluded to, in which Kernble Jackson, 
O'Blenis, Boston Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John 
were engaged, had been made about five weeks before the day 
came for action. As I have before mentioned, the stallion 
had been preyented from throwing down his head in his 
breaks by means of the " Kemble- J ackson " check; and, 
though he was wild and uncertain when he . first came into 
my hands, he had gradually become so steady, and could go 
so fast and easy with great weight behind him, that we 
looked forward to the trot for the three-mile-heat race with 
considerable confidence. But the other parties had also 
been at work ; and the horses had all done so well, and given 
such evidence of speed and stoutness in their trials, that, to 
our surprise and to the astonishment of most other people, 
every one of the six c-ame upon the course in good order 
to contend for the money. The owners and trainers all 
thought so well of their horses that they backed their own. 

The general public, however, had a strong favorite, as 
usual, and the famous son of Abdallah was the horse. He 
was backed at even against the field, and a vast amount of 
money was laid. It was no great wonder that people in 
general should have such faith in him, for he was a capital 
horse; and it was to be remembered, that here was the 
neighborhood in which his famous sire Abdallah had stood so 

205 



206 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

many years, and in which the great speed and invincible 
bottom of his immediate descendants had been most often 
and most completely exhibited. But there were some men 
whose foolhardy confidence and over-anxiety to back him 
against such a strong field I was a little surprised to see. 
The argument of some who ought to have known better 
was, " He can beat five as easily as he can beat one ! " Now, 
a very superior horse can beat five middling ones as easily as 
he can one, even in a race of heats, if there is no accident 
befalls ; but how is it if one of the five does not turn out 
middling on the day, and, taking a heat from the favorite, 
breaks -the race up into nobody knows how many fragments ? 
Here, the field being strong in numbers, as well as good in 
quality, there was great reason to believe it would be too 
much for any named horse. Still, O'Blenis was the favorite 
with the multitude, and much money was laid. 

The attendance of people was so large, that the like had 
never been witnessed at a trotting-race. No such assem- 
blage had come together on the Union Course since the 
famous four-mile race between Fashion and Peytona. I 
should think there were 15,000 people present, and the 
whole inside circle of the course seemed to be filled with 
vehicles. There was great excitement ; and it was not with- 
out a little trouble and a good deal of patience that we got 
the stretch clear, when we had hitched up our horses and 
began to jog them up and down. At length we were called 
up, and at the first or second time of scoring got the word 
to a handsome start. I had the pole with Kemble Jackson, 
and soon took the lead. The first mile was trotted in 2m. 
41s., and he had a good lead at the end of it, and O'Blenis 
second. I found him going so well, and getting away with 
the weight so easily, that I was quite willing to have O'Blenis 
force the pace, which he now did. The second mile was 
done in 2m. 39^s. ; and, during the whole of it, everybody 
was on the lookout to see Kemble Jackson break. But so 
far he gave no indications of a break to me, and led by the 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 207 

stand at the end of this mile as handsomely as hefore. The 
third mile was done in 2m. 42Js., making the total of the 
heat 8m. 03s. ; and Kemble was first at the outcome. He 
had not been headed in the heat, and won with lengths to 
spare. O'Blenis was second, Pet third, Iola fourth, Boston 
Girl fifth, and Honest John sixth. 

The excitement was now redoubled. The great body of 
the spectators were much pleased with the fine style in 
which all the horses had trotted, and with which the stallion 
had won. The friends and backers of O'Blenis and of the 
other losers of the heat were not at all cast down ; but those 
who had put their faith in Kemble Jackson were much 
elated. More money was laid. The backers of O'Blenis 
would not hedge, thinking he was about sure to win the 
next heat; and those who stood upon the other horses 
thought so too. " The heats," said they, " will be broken, 
and we shall all have a good chance to come out best : it's 
anybody's race ! " The truth was, that they all looked for 
Kemble Jackson to get up, and were much surprised that 
he had not done so " the first time of asking ; n that is, in 
the heat he had won. Everybody knew that this trick of 
his had lost him his races prior to my getting him, and they 
concluded that he had not altogether forgotten to practise 
it in so short a time. 

So now we came up for the second heat, and got the word 
for the start. Iola and Pet had the best of it ; and Brooks 
and Harry Jones bulged them off in the lead at such a rate 
that I was forced to let them take the pole on the turn, for 
fear that the stallion, not being settled, might get up in a 
great rush at that moment. But, when we got in the straight 
work of the backstretch, I found that he was well down to 
his work, and felt that I might safely send him along. 
Doing so, I passed first one and then the other, and came 
on the home-stretch with a clear lead. The first mile was 
done in 2m. 41s., and Kemble Jackson in the lead. O'Blenis 
now came at me j and, not being in the mind to resign the 



208 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA, 

pole again, I called upon Keinble, and trotted the second 
mile in 2m. 39s. The third mile was an easy one for the 
stallion. He did it in 2m. 44|s., and so won the heat with 
ease in 8m. 04f s. Kemble never was headed but once in 
the race, and that was by Iola and Pet when they got the 
best of the last start. He made no break throughout ; and 
he was such a capital horse that day, that I know I could 
have beat eight minutes with him in both heats, if it had 
been necessary for me to do so. I never touched him with 
the whip, nor spoke to him ; and he trotted away as lively 
with the great weight as if he had been going only in a 
sulky. Everybody was satisfied, and everybody but the 
heavy losers pleased. Even the latter professed no regret 
for the result ; and yet more money had changed hands than 
was ever laid on any other trot. Kemble Jackson had done 
his work so well, and had won it in such grand, command- 
ing style, that those who laid and lost against him, in-com- 
mon with the great body of the people, loudly proclaimed 
their delight at having been present to see such a perforin-* 
ance. The owners and trainers of the other horses were 
also well satisfied; for, though beaten, O'Blenis, Boston 
Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John had done well. They 
came in at the end of the second heat in the order named ; 
and though neither of them won, they all beat their trials. 
The fact was, that Kemble Jackson had come out in such 
an extraordinary manner as to upset all outside calculations, 
and set at defiance all speculations drawn from his previous 
performances. He proved himself a stallion that day en- 
tirely worthy of his sire, the renowned Andrew Jackson ; 
and I think it was a misfortune that he lived but a very 
short time after the race. A few days subsequent to the 
trot, he left my stable for the Red House, Harlem, where 
he stood to cover ; and in the course of two or three weeks 
he died there of rupture. 

One of the best weight-pullers that I have ever known is 
Mr. Bonner's chestnut mare Lady Palmer j and his gray 



TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 209 

mare Peerless is just about as good. In a public trial, there 
being about two hundred people present, Sim. Hoagland and 
I drove them two miles, wagons and drivers olllbs. Palmer 
won it in the amazing time of 4m. 59s., but I was close to 
her at the finish with Peerless. Palmer is one of the ex- 
ceptions to the rule, that long-striding horses are not good 
to pull great weights. She is a very long strider ; and no 
one would take her to be the weight-puller she is, until he 
had experience of her wonderful power in that regard. In 
everything except her stride, however, she fills my notion 
of what a fast weight-puller should be. She is medium in 
size, about fifteen two inches ; in nothing bulky, but with 
good substance, and when in condition seems made of wire 
and whalebone. But her long stroke is unfavorable to the 
pulling of great weight fast ; and nothing overcomes the dis- 
advantage of it, but the energy with which she shoves her 
haunches in, her very strong loin, and the terrible resolu- 
tion with which she all the while goes up to the bit. Blood 
tells here. 

Her old antagonist Columbia, afterwards called California 
Damsel, was another famous weight-puller. It was a great 
treat to see these capital chestnut mares trot their races on 
the Union Course ; Palmer driven by Hoagland, and Colum- 
bia by the late Horace Jones. The first match between 
them was in November, 1860, mile heats, three in five, 
wagons and drivers 3301bs. Palmer won it in four heats, 
of which Columbia got the second. The time was 2m. 33s., 
2m. 34Js., 2m. 35s., 2m. 38s. Three days afterwards they 
went again, two-mile heats, same weight. Columbia won 
in three heats, Palmer getting the second of them. The 
time, 5m. 08fs., 5m. 07s., 5m. 08^s. The mares Palmer, 
Peerless, and Columbia were as good weight-pullers as have 
been known since Kemble Jackson's time. But in comparing 
what he did in the three-mile race against O'Blenis, Boston 
Girl, Pet, Iola, and Honest John, with their speedier and 
more modern performances, it must be remembered that he 
U 



210 THE TBOTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

took along more weight by 651bs. than Palmer and Colum- 
bia did in their matches, and more by 841bs. than Palmer 
and Peerless did in their best trial. An addition like either 
of those to weight already high makes a vast difference. 
The English had a theory once, that weight was of no mo- 
ment in trotting ; and some of the best horses they ever had, 
such as Archer and Ogden's mare, carried about 1681bs. in 
their performances, although the matches were made catch- 
weight. It is curious that they should have cherished such 
a delusion ; for in reference to running-horses they appreci- 
ated the effect of weight closely enough. About the close 
of the last century, however, some of the more reflective 
began to doubt this maxim ; and when Kobson's mare Phe- 
nomena came out, she being a very easy-going-trotter and 
no puller, they got a boy out of the racing-stables at New- 
market, and practised him in the riding of her. They soon 
found out the difference between 1681bs. and the compara- 
tive trifle that the boy rode. The mare won her two matches, 
doing seventeen miles in fifty-six minutes in the first, and 
seventeen miles in fifty-three minutes in the second. Her 
owner then offered to match her to trot nineteen miles and 
a half in an hour ; but the backers of time declared they had 
had quite enough of Phenomena and her boy from New- 
market. 



XXV. 

The Gray Mare Lady Suffolk. — Her Pedigree. — Place of Breeding. — Sale 
to David Bryan. — Description of Lady Suffolk. — Her Performances. — 
More than Fifteen Years on the Course. — Trotted 138 Races, and won 88 
Times. — Suffolk and Sam Patch. — Suffolk and Black Hawk. — Suffolk 
and the Virginia Mare. — Suffolk and Rattler. — Suffolk, Dutchman, and 
Rattler. — Suffolk and Awful. — Suffolk, Napoleon, Cato, and Ion. — 
Suffolk, Dutchman, and Rattler again. — Suffolk and Dutchman. 

ALMOST everybody in this country has heard more or 
less of Lady Suffolk, the famous old gray mare, whose 
name stood once at the head of the record, as having made 
the fastest time. It will be twenty-eight years next month 
since I rode her in the first race she ever trotted. And as I 
know it will be interesting to the gentlemen who knew her 
to recall some of her exploits, and useful to those of a later 
date to be somewhat acquainted with the history of such a 
celebrated trotter, I shall proceed to relate about all I know 
respecting her. Lady Suffolk was bred in Suffolk County 
on this island, and hence her name. Her dam was by Plato, a 
son of imported Messenger ; and her sire, Engineer, was also 
by Messenger : so she was closely inbred to the horse from 
whom the best strains of trotting-blood originally proceeded. 
The dam of Lady Suffolk was bred by Gen. Floyd, of 
Smithtown, Long Island. His son sold her to Mr. Charles 
Little, who parted with her to Mr. Blaydenburgh. While 
she was owned by the latter gentleman she was put to 
Engineer a good running-horse by imported Messenger, 
but without a clear pedigree on his dam's side. 

The filly foal produced by the Plato mare and Engineer 
was dropped in 1833 j and when two years old she was sold 

211 



212 TEE TROTTING-HOBSE OF AMERICA. 

to David Bryant, a man who knew but little about the 
management of trotting-horses at that time, and was always 
a hard, reckless master for the wonder he had got hold of. 
When young, Lady Suffolk was an iron-gray, rather dark 
than light ; but in her old age she became almost white. 
She was, in my judgment, but little, if any, above fifteen 
hands and an inch high. It has been stated in print, and 
I have often heard it said, that she was fifteen two ; but I 
never called her more than fifteen one, or fifteen one and a 
half at the outside. She was well made, — long in the body ; 
back a little roached; powerful long quarters; hocks let 
down low; short cannon bones, and long fetlocks. For 
many years her ankles were straight, pastern-joints fine; 
but, prior to the close of her long and very extraordinary 
career, she was a little knuckled. She had good shoulders, 
a light and slim but yet muscular neck, a large, long, bony 
head, and big ears. To look at her, the worst point about 
her was her feet. They were small and crimpy, — what is 
called mulish ; but they were sound and tough in texture. 
In trotting, she went with her head low, and nose thrust 
out. Her neck was very straight. I have seen it stated 
that it was finely arched, but it is all a mistake : if there 
was any deviation from the straight, it inclined more to the 
ewe-neck than to an arch. 

In February, 1838, being then five years old in reckon- 
ing, but not quite so much actually, Lady Suffolk made her 
first public trot. She continued on the turf until the latter 
end of October, 1853, a period of more than fifteen years ; 
during which time she met almost all the celebrated horses 
of the day, and trotted no less than one hundred and thirty- 
eight races, besides receiving three forfeits. As they were 
all races of heats, and many of them four or five heats, I 
estimate that she took the word from the judges above four 
hundred times, perhaps nearer five hundred. She won 
eighty-eight times, besides three forfeits; and the amount 
she earned in stakes and purses was no less than $35,011. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 213 

When it is remembered, in addition to all this, that the 
heats in her races were as often two and three mile as one, 
and sometimes four-mile heats, it will be plain to everybody 
that the mare had inherited in great perfection the hardy 
constitution, unflinching game, and enormous stamina with 
which her grandsire, Messenger, was so eminently gifted. 
It was all but marvellous, that, until she was more than 
twenty years old, the gallant gray mare stood up under the 
system, or rather want of system, pursued by her owner, 
and, in season and out of season, always answered when he 
called. 

The Lady began in a modest way. She was not one of 
the high-priced and precious youngsters whose fame is 
sounded far and loud before they have had saddle or harness 
on ; but being at a trot we had up at Babylon, on a terribly 
cold day in February, 1838, Bryant put her in to trot mile 
heats, under saddle, for a subscription purse, which amounted 
to the munificent sura of eleven dollars. I was there, and 
he came to me to ride her, to which I readily consented ; 
for I liked the looks of the wiry little gray mare, and knew 
that she could trot a little. The horse opposed to us was a 
bay gelding called Sam Patch, so named after his owner, 
who rode him. We started, and the Lady won the first 
heat in 3m. 01s. ; Sam got the second in 3m. 03s. : but the 
Lady let out another link in the third heat, and beat him 
handsomely in 3m. 00s. It has been stated that the best time 
in this race was 3m. 01s ; but I know that the third heat 
was no more than 3m. 

As the spring came on,- Bryant put her in training ; that 
is, he fed her, and gave her plenty of work ; which, in fact, 
was about all she wanted to get into fair condition at anj^ time. 
On the 20th of June, he trotted her for a purse on the Beacon 
Course, New Jersey, two-mile heats in harness. The other 
was a black gelding called Black Hawk, that Wm. Whelan 
had. Bryant drove the mare the first heat, but was beat in 
5m. 42s., and then came for me to drive. I consented, but 



214 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

had no confidence that she could win it. I was not mis- 
taken ; though she made another good game heat, the time 
of which was 5m. 42s. again. For a five-year-old mare, and 
one that had been raised rather on the pinching than the 
forcing system, this was a fair race ; and most people would 
have given her a short holiday after it. 

But Dave Bryant had no notion of letting her stand still 
when there was the ghost of a chance to make a few dol- 
lars ; and two days afterwards he had her at it again, two- 
mile heats, under saddle. This time, too, it was against 
a mare that had come on from Philadelphia with a great 
reputation and a host of backers. She was a handsome 
chestnut, and called then the Virginia Mare. Afterwards 
they changed her name to Lady Victory, and then to Kate 
Horn. George Woodruff had brought her on from Phila- 
delphia, having tried her two miles before he came, over 
the Hunting-park Course, in 5m. 09s. Many gentlemen 
from Philadelphia had come to the Beacon to back the 
Virginia Mare ; and she was the favorite at one hundred to 
twenty-five. There were two others in the race besides the 
chestnut and Suffolk ; and the chance of the latter was 
thought so ill of, that Bryant could get no one to ride her. 
In this emergency he swore he would ride her himself, and 
mounted. George Woodruff was to give the Philadelphians 
a signal when he had the race safe ; but the gray mare was 
all on edge that day: the saddle-work suited her. She 
went ahead, and won the first heat in 5m. 15s. ; and George 
Woodruff made no sign. Still the confidence of the friends 
of the Virginia Mare did not leave her. But the Lady of 
Suffolk won again, in 5m. 17s. ; and Uncle George Woodruff 
never made that signal. It was a heavy blow to the Phila- 
delphia party, and a wonderful hoist to Bryant and the 
young gray mare. This was on the 22d of June. 

On the 4th of July he had her out again, at the same 
Beacon Course, to trot two-mile heats under saddle, against 
no less a horse than Battler, who was then in charge of 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 215 

Peter Whelan. It resultediin a race of three heats. The 
lady won the first in 5m. 29s. The second heat was a very- 
severe one. The last mile they were head-and-head nearly 
all the way ; and, after a desperate struggle home, Rattler 
just won by eight inches. Nothing hut the fine riding of 
Peter Whelan, who was a splendid horseman, enabled Rat- 
tler to snatch this heat from Lady Suffolk. Bryant now 
came to me, and asked me to ride. I told him, that, in my 
opinion, the mare could not win ; and that if I found it was 
the case I should not punish her. The truth was, that she 
had had a little too much of it for a five-year-old ; and, with 
all her wonderful toughness and elasticity of constitution, 
she had gone off since she won in 5.15, 5.17. In the third 
heat with Rattler I found she could not win, and took her 
in hand on the second mile. He won it in 5.40, and she 
was distanced. We had another race that day, in which I 
drove Dutchman ; but that is nothing to the purpose here, 
except to say that Lady Suffolk's next race was with him 
and Rattler. It was at the Beacon, on the 1st of October, 
two-mile heats, under saddle. The Lady was distanced the 
first heat in 5.17. 

On the 8th, Bryant had her out again to trot two-mile 
heats in harness, against Awful, also at the Beacon. Aw- 
ful beat her in 5.28, 5.21^. On the 15th, at the same 
place, the Lady again trotted two-mile heats in harness, 
this time against Napoleon, a big bay gelding, Cato, a 
brown gelding, and Ion. Napoleon won in three heats, — 
5.42^, 5.38, 5.39. Cato won the second heat. Bryant 
drove Lady Suffolk in the first and second heats ; and then, 
according to his usual practice when there was no chance 
left, he came and invited me to drive. The track was heavy 
in this race. This was on the 15th. Two days afterwards, 
Bryant had her in Philadelphia, and then and there trotted 
her two-mile heats under saddle, on the Hunting-park 
Course, against Polly Smallfry and Madame Royal. The 
gray mare won it in two heats, in 5.18, 5.26. The next 



216 TEE TROTTING-EOUSE OF AMERICA. 

day, the 18th, Lady Suffolk was trotted again ; this time 
three-mile heats under saddle, and against Battler, Lady 
Victory (formerly the Virginia Mare), and Ben Franklin. 
Battler won in 8.11, 8.17. The track was heavy. 

On the 22d, Bryant had Lady Suffolk back at the Beacon 
again, where he trotted her two-mile heats under saddle, 
against Dutchman and Battler. As I was sick, Feter 
Whelan rode Dutchman, and William Whelan at this time 
had Battler. Bryant rode the Lady. Dutchman won in 
5.38, 5.52. The track was heavy. Lady Suffolk's owner 
was not yet content with her season's work. On the 24th, 
he trotted her mile-heats, three in five, in harness, against 
Dutchman. The mare was unsteady, and no wonder. She 
broke up several times ; and I distanced her the first heat 
in 2m. 49s. 

Thus late in season, within a month and a day of 
Christmas, the work of the young gray mare for her first 
season of fifteen on the turf had come to a close. She had 
trotted eleven races, — two of mile heats, eight of two-mile 
heats, and one of three-mile heats. For a five-year old 
mare, this was an immense amount of fast work; and it is 
to be remembered that her opponents were not middling 
horses, but some of the best that ever appeared on the trot- 
ting-turf. Dutchman, Battler, Awful, &c, were the com- 
petitors of this young mare in her first season. But 
although Lady Suffolk received no apparent injury from 
the number of her arduous exploits, the example set by 
Bryant in trotting her so much is not one to be followed. 
Indeed, I recommend that it shall be carefully avoided ; for 
the mare's escape from evils which might reasonably have 
been expected to follow was purely exceptional. Such an 
amount of trotting with elder horses of first-rate powers 
would ruin an ordinary five-year-old; and it was only 
because Lady Suffolk was M a horse above ordinances," like 
English Eclipse, that she was enabled to stand it with ap- 
parent impunity. Therefore, while remembering her aston- 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 217 

ishing endurance and success, let us avoid the great risk 
which Bryant needlessly incurred of prematurely using up 
one of the hest animals that ever took hold of a trotting- 
bit. And here, too, it is also to be borne in mind, that the 
breeding of the mare must have been such as to produce an 
enormous amount of stamina, and capability to resist wear 
and tear in every sense. What, then, was that breeding ? 
The answer is simply, that she was at least three-fourths 
thoroughbred, and was also bred in-and-in, her sire and the 
sire of her dam having both been got by imported Messen- 
ger. Let not these things be lost sight of as I continue 
her history. 






XXVL 

Regarding Early Maturity. — Lady Suffolk and Apollo. — Lady Suffolk and 
Dutchman. — Suffolk and Cato. — Suffolk, Lady Victory, and Lafayette. 
— Suffolk, Henry, Celeste, and Cato. — Suffolk and Don Juan. — Suffolk 
and Ellen Jewett. — Suffolk and Independence. — Suffolk and Dutch- 
man. — Suffolk, Celeste, and Napoleon. — Suffolk against Time. — Suf- 
folk against Bonaparte. — Suffolk and Aaron Burr. 

THE commencement of Lady Suffolk's history interested 
those who rememhered her performances five-and- 
twenty years before, and revived the discussion about the 
forcing-system and early maturity. It was admitted that 
David Bryant trotted the mare too much in her first season ; 
but some still held that early maturity was a good thing, and 
predicted that it will be hereafter one of the chief aims of the 
breeders. I am somewhat afraid that it will ; and being con- 
vinced that it will be mischievous, and end in the premature 
decay of many good horses, I have protested against it. 
The argument is this : if a colt can be made as good at 
three years old as another will be at five or six, there is a 
great saving of time and expense. Now, this is not the 
proper way to state the question ; for a colt may be as fast 
at three as another is at five or six, and still be an inferior 
horse ; and it is my opinion that the method adopted to make 
him at three equal to what the other will be at six is almost 
certain to render him an inferior animal as regards duration. 
As I before stated, when treating of this matter, early 
maturity is almost always followed by early decay. If it 
could be had without that result, it would of course be a 
good thing to strive for ; but the forcing with strong feed 
when young, and the hard work of training and trotting at 
218 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 219 

an early age, so overdraws upon the constitution and makes 
such inroads upon the legs while they are supple and grow- 
ing, that the horse is often practically ruined before he is a 
horse at all. For those who raise colts to sell, it is a profit- 
able system ; it being for their interest to get them taken 
off at three, rather than at five or six years old : but next 
to nobody wants a trotting-colt merely because he can go 
very fast at three years old. If there is not a good chance 
for future improvement, and promise of reasonable duration 
upon the turf or road, the colt is really worth but little. I 
am satisfied that this improvement and duration are not 
half as likely to follow in the case of one who has been 
forced by high feed and trained early, as in that of one who 
has been treated more according to the order of nature. 

Expedition in such matter is commonly compensated for 
at the expense of the purchaser. I can remember when it 
took three times as long to tan a hide of sole-leather as it 
does now. The increased rapidity of the process is no doubt 
a gain to the tanner, and also to the manufacturing shoe- 
maker ; but how is it with the people who wear out the 
boots ? One pair of the old sort of soles would wear out 
four of those tanned by the new process. 

In this work, I have mentioned many famous trotters who 
improved in speed and bottom until they were eight or ten 
years old, and lasted until they were fifteen, — some of them 
until they were twenty. None of these horses were forced 
by high feeding when sucklings and yearlings, and none of 
them were trained at two and three years of age. If the} r 
had been, it is my belief that their careers upon the turf 
and road would have been ended just about where they 
began under the system which then prevailed. What has 
been the result of the forcing and early training of the 
thorough-bred running horse ? Simply this : he is faster 
than he ever was at any former period, but his decay is very 
early and very rapid. In old times, when they never started 
until they were four or five years old, the great racers often 



220 THE TROTTING-HOHSE OF AMERICA. 

ran on until they were ten or twelve. They now reach a 
pitch of astonishing speed and power at three and four years 
old, and few remain in active service on the turf after they 
are six. The racing-trainers do not deny that the early 
maturity and training of the colts impair the durability of 
the race-horses ; and this being so, I deny that the system 
ought to be adopted with our trotters. To follow a method 
for obtaining certain results at three years old at the ex- 
pense of half or three-fourths the value of the horse when 
he becomes seven or eight, is just like the conduct of the 
directors of joint-stock companies when they pay dividends 
out of the capital stock. 

Lady Suffolk's second year upon the turf (1839) was as 
arduous as her first. She trotted twelve races, — one of 
mile heats, two of mile heats three in five, eight of two- 
mile heats, and one of four-mile heats. Her season began 
on the 26th of April, when she trotted two-mile heats under 
saddle against Apollo, at the Beacon Course, New Jersey. 
Apollo was a blind horse, a chestnut gelding. The mare 
won the first heat in 5m. 21s. ; and, finding the blind one 
had no chance, I drew him. On the 27th of the same 
month, and at the same course, Dutchman and Lady Suffolk 
went two-mile heats under saddle. I beat her the first 
heat in 5m. 16s., and in the second led all the way, and won 
as I pleased in 5m. 9s. At the first turn of the second mile 
in this heat, and when the Lady was close to me, I just 
touched Dutchman with the spur ; and he shot away from it, 
twenty-five yards ahead of her, like an arrow from a bow. 
The Lady lay by all May and June, but came out on the 
3d of July, feeling very fine, to trot Cato at the Beacon, 
two-mile heats under saddles. She won the first heat in 
5m. 39s., and he was then drawn. 

Bryant then took her to Philadelphia, and on the 24th 
of that month trotted her against George Woodruff's Lady 
Victory and Mr. Duffy's Lafayette. The latter was a brown 
gelding, about fifteen handst hree inches high ; and he waa 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 221 

a good horse. It was two-mile heats in harness, and a very- 
fine race ensued. They all got a heat, but Lady Victory 
won. She took the first, Lafayette the second, Suffolk the 
third ; and in the fourth " Uncle George " came again with 
Lady Victory, and won. The time was 5.28, 5.31, 5.32, 
5.42. A match between the two mares grew out of this 
race ; and the next day they trotted it over again. It was 
a near thing, but Suffolk's great recuperative powers enabled 
her to stay the longest. She won the first heat in 5m. 38s. ; 
Lady Victory got the second in 5m. 35s. ; but Suffolk secured 
the third in 5m. 40s. Here were seven two-mile heats by 
these mares trotted in two days, and still Bryant thought 
the Long-Island mare had not had enough. He went off 
and matched her to trot mile heats against Lafayette the 
next day, — he to carry two in a buggy, and she to go in 
harness. The buggy weighed 1121bs. j Mr. Duffy, the 
driver, 1501bs. ; and his friend llllbs. This was 3731bs. 
Lafayette beat the Lady in 2m. 52s. and 2m. 50s. ; she 
being stiff and sore and utterly unfit to trot. 

She had a rest through the month of September, and on 
the 3d of October came out on the Beacon to trot two-mile 
heats in harness, against Henry, Celeste, and Cato. Henry 
was a handsome chestnut gelding in the stable of Harry 
Jones. Celeste was a flea-bitten gray mare in mine. Hen- 
ry won the first heat in 5m. 28s ; Lady Suffolk took the 
next in the same time, and the third in 5.26 ; thus winning 
the race. The next week the same horses, together with 
Don Juan, trotted two-mile heats in harness, on the Cen- 
treville. Harry won this in 5m. 20s., 5m. 28s. I was 
second with Celeste, and Lady Suffolk was distanced in the 
second heat ; but this was caused by my having run into 
her, and upset her sulky. 

On the 23d of October she went two-mile heats under 
saddle against Don Juan on the Beacon, and beat him 
handily in 5m. 14s., 5m. 24s. Bryant now took her to 
Boston; and at the Cambridge Course, on the 15th of 



222 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

Kovember, trotted her four-mile heats under saddle, against 
Ellen Jewett, a little bay mare. The gray mare took the 
lead in each heat, and was never headed. She won in 11m. 
22s., 11m. 34s. That very same day, Bryant actually trotted 
her mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Indepen- 
dence. The latter was a chestnut gelding and a good horse. 
He had not great speed then ; but he afterwards came here, 
and got to be very fast. He beat the Lady in 2m. 45^s., 
2m. 45s., 2m. 47s. Even this was not enough for Bryant. 
He trotted her the same race against Independence the 
next day, and got her beat again as he deserved. But she 
won two heats — the second and third — in this second race. 
The time of the five was 2m. 52s., 2m. 53s., 2m. 49s., 2m. 
47s., 2m. 50s. That ended her racing for the year, and there 
is no need to recapitulate her performances. 

She had again proved herself as hard as steel and as tough 
as whalebone ; and Bryant had given another notable speci- 
men or two of his reckless and foolhardy way of carrying on 
a campaign. At Philadelphia he trotted her three days in 
succession. On the first of them, four two-mile heats ; on 
the second, three two-mile heats ; on the third, mile heats, — 
all in harness. Then at Boston he trots her four-mile heats, 
and mile heats, three in five, in harness, on the same day ; 
and mile heats, three in five, in harness, on the following 
day ; and in this last there were five heats. 

Lady Suffolk had now been two years on the turf. She 
commenced in 1840 on the 6th of May, by trotting two-mile 
heats under saddle, at the Hunting-park Course, Philadel- 
phia, against Dutchman. The bay horse beat her in two 
good heats, — 5m. 5s., 5m. 6s. Two days afterwards, they 
trotted three-mile heats under saddle, over the same course ; 
and Dutchman was again victorious, making the heats in 
7m. 51s. each. It was rather a singular circumstance that 
they should have been just alike in time. In less than a 
week after these two hard losing races, Bryant trotted Lady 
Suffolk on the Centreville Course, Long Island, against 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 223 

Celeste and Napoleon, two-mile heats in harness. Celeste 
was the gray mare heretofore mentioned as in my stable. A 
race of three heats resulted ; in which Napoleon won the first, 
and Lady Suffolk the second and third. But Napoleon was 
distanced in the third heat j so my mare was second in the 
race. The time was 5m. 26s., 5m. 33s., 5m. 32s. 

On the 11th of June, Lady Suffolk trotted a mile against 
time, on the Stevens Running Course, Hohoken. The 
match grew out of a remark made by a gentleman in con- 
versation, that Bonaparte was the only horse capable of 
trotting a mile over that course in less that 2m. 40s. So 
Lady Suffolk was backed to beat that time. The track was 
sandy and very deep, but it was not at all holding ; and the 
gray mare went away at a slashing gait, and did the mile in 
2m. 32s. Much amazement was caused ; but I cannot see 
that there had been any good reason for the belief that the 
course was so very slow for a trotter going under saddle. If 
she had had wheels behind her, or if the ground had been 
heavy and holding as well as deep, it would have been dif- 
ferent. The Lady now enjoyed her ease until the 30th of 
June, when she trotted four-mile heats under saddle, against 
Bonaparte, on the Centreville Course. This Bonaparte was 
a chestnut gelding, sixteen hands high, and well bred. He 
had been worked on Mr. Stevens's running-track at Hoboken, 
and was thought to be very fast, as well as stout. His time 
over that course was such that they thought no other horse 
could equal it, until Lady Suffolk knocked it all to pieces. 
On the trotting-course, Lady Suffolk beat him easily enough, 
— four-mile heats. In the first of them I rode him, and the 
time was 11m. 15s. In the second heat, William Whelan 
rode him ; and he was again beaten handily in 11m. 58s. 

Lady Suffolk was not engaged again until the 21st Sep- 
tember, when she trotted with Aaron Burr, two-mile heats, on 
the Beacon Course. Aaron Burr was a small but handsome 
and well-bred blood bay horse. He was in my stable. In 
this race he won the first heat ; but the Lady took the second 



224 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA, 

and third after a close contest. The time was 5m. 22s., 5m. 
21s., 5m. 35s. He had trotted up to her so well in this race 
that I was still of opinion that he could beat her ; and in 
consequence they were matched for $2,000. But the little 
horse went amiss, and paid forfeit. Still the Lady was kept 
busy. On the 24th of September, she was trotted two-mile 
heats under saddle, against Dutchman, on the Beacon 
Course, and beat him in 4m. 59s., 5m. 3|s. A match was 
forthwith made for one thousand dollars a side, half-forfeit, 
that she could beat any horse that could be produced the 
next day, mile heats under saddle. The Lady was on hand 
on the morrow, but the other side paid forfeit. The time 
soon came when she had to pay. 

On the 29th of that month, being engaged to trot with 
Dutchman and Washington on the Beacon Course, she was 
found to be unable to start. It was announced that she 
was lame ; but certain suspicious people would not believe it, 
and got up a clamor. In order to satisfy them, the mare 
was led out ; and lame, indeed, she was. She could hardly 
put one of her fore-feet to the ground, and was literally on 
three legs. Very few believed that she would ever come 
right ; and I no more expected to see her trot again that 
year than I expected to see the grass grown again in the 
winter. Nevertheless, after a rest of a couple of months, 
she appeared as sound as a new dollar, to trot on the Beacon, 
a match of two-mile heats under saddle, against Don Juan. 
The race was set for the last day of November, and he 
paid her a forfeit of $500. The work she did that year 
was not as great as she had done in 1838 and 1839, but 
it was still a great deal ; and luckily she went into winter 
quarters, giving every promise of another fine campaign 
next season. 



y 



XXVII. 

Suffolk, Confidence, and Washington. — Suffolk, Confidence, and Aaron 
Burr. — Suffolk, Awful, and Aaron Burr. — Suffolk and Ripton. — Suf- 
folk and Oneida Chief the Pacer. — Suffolk and Americus, Five-mile 
Heats. — Suffolk, Ripton, and Confidence. — Suffolk and Rifle vs. Hard- 
ware and Apology. — Longtails and Docking. — Suffolk and Ripton. — 
Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence. — Suffolk, Beppo, and Oneida Chief. 
— Suffolk, Americus, Ripton, Washington, and Pizarro. — Suffolk, J. C. 
Calhoun, and Fairy Queen. 

IN 1841, Lady Suffolk commenced her campaign at the 
Centreville Course on the 4th. of May, in a trot of two- 
mile heats in harness, against Confidence and Washington. 
The gray mare was successful, winning in two heats of 5m. 
lo^s. and 5m. 41s. Washington was distanced. In her 
next trot on the Centreville, she went against Confidence 
and Aaron Burr, mile heats, three in five. Aaron Burr 
was in my stable. He was a bay gelding, about fifteen 
hands two inches high, a good stepper and long stayer. 
This race was won by Confidence. I must now mention 
the trots at the Hunting-park Course against Dutchman, 
and the trots in which Lady Suffolk contended with Rip- 
ton ; for, though they have been mentioned in the sketches 
given heretofore of those horses, it is desirable that they 
should be recapitulated here, in order that, having Lady 
Suffolk's performances before him altogether, the reader 
may be better enabled to comprehend the immense stamina 
and marvellous bottom of the gray mare. In the two-mile- 
heat race at the Hunting-park Course, Lady Suffolk beat 
Dutchman in three heats, — 5 m. 12-|s., 5m. 19Js. ; 5m. 21s. 

15 105 



226 THE TROTTING-HOIISE OF AMERICA. 

This was in harness. The second, of three-mile heats 
under saddle, she also won in 7m. 40^s., 7m. 56s ; 

It is perfectly clear to my mind that Dutchman was a 
little off in this race; hut it is also clear that the gray 
mare was then very good. On the 13th of June, at the 
Beacon Course, we had a very tough race of three-mile 
heats in harness, hetween Lady Suffolk, Awful, and my 
horse Aaron Burr. The odds was on the Lady at the start ; 
and she won the first heat in 8m. 2|s. Aaron Burr was 
second, and close to her. The next heat was dead between 
the Lady and Aaron, in 8m. 3s. The betting was very 
lively now, she being the favorite at odds. But the third 
heat I won with Aaron in 8m. 8s., and was satisfied that I 
had my Lady beat. She was second, and Awful ruled out 
for not winning a heat in three. The fourth heat was won 
by Aaron Burr in 8m. 16s. ; and there was much lamenta- 
tion among those who had laid odds on Lady Suffolk. 
They attributed her defeat to David Bryant, who persisted 
in driving himself, when they wanted to put another man 
in his place. 

On the 5th of July, at the Beacon, the Lady beat Bipton, 
under saddle, mile heats, in 2m. 35s., 2m. ol\s. Bipton 
carried a hundred and sixty-nine pounds instead of a hun- 
dred and forty-five pounds; for I was then twenty-four 
pounds over weight. On the 22d of the same month, and 
at the same course, Lady Suffolk beat Awful two-mile heats 
in harness, in three heats. He won the first in 5m. 26Js., 
and it was thought he had got her ; but the Lady went 
away, and won the second heat in 5m. 28s., and then the 
third in 5m. 24s. 

Five days after that, at the same course, the gray mare 
met Oneida Chief the pacer. This horse was in my stable : 
and, when he went in harness, I drove him ; but, when it 
was under saddle, I did not ride him. He was a light chest- 
nut, with a white mane and tail, and was a stayer as well 
as fast. In this race on the Beacon, which was two-miie 



/ 
THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 227 

heats under saddle, the odds were a hundred to sixty on the 
Chief at the start. But the mare went away, and distanced 
him in 5m. 5s. ; winning the race with very great ease. 
Suffolk had now done a good deal of work, and had been on 
the whole very successful. Early in the fall, the great 
match of the year came off on the Centre ville Course. It 
was five-mile heats to wagons, for $5,500. Bryant drove 
his mare, and George Spicer did the like for Americus. 
The betting at the start was a hundred to seventy on 
Americus. It was the greatest betting-race we had had 
for some time; and the gelding fully justified the good 
opinion of those who laid odds on him. He won the first 
heat with ease in 13m. 54s. ; the fastest mile being the 
fifth, in 2m. 40-|s. It was now " a horse to a hen " on the 
gelding. In the second heat he again beat her easily in 
13m. 58-|s. ; the best mile being the fifth, 2m. 44s. This 
closed the performances of 1841 : in which year she had 
trotted two races of mile heats, six heats; four races of 
two-mile heats, ten heats; two races of three-mile heats, 
six heats ; and one race of five-mile heats, two heats. 

In 1842 the mare began at the Beacon, on the 7th of 
May, two-mile heats in harness, against Bipton and Confi- 
dence. The white-legged gelding won it in 5m. 10-^s., 5m. 
12^s. Three days afterwards at the Centreville, it being 
the day that Boston and Fashion ran, Suffolk turned the 
tables on Bipton. It was the " ladies' day " all round at 
both courses, and the mares won. Suffolk beat Bipton in 
5m. 10s., 5m. 15s. I have always had a notion that Bipton 
was defeated that day, not because the mare was too good 
for him, but by reason of something I afterwards learned, 
not necessary to be mentioned here. I drove the little 
horse myself. At the Hunting-park Course, on the last 
day of that month, they met again, two-mile heats in har- 
ness ; and he beat her in three heats, she winning the second. 
In the first, as I have related in giving his history, Bipton 
made the best two-mile time in harness then on record, — 5m. 



228 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEJIIQA. 

7s. It had, however, been surpassed under saddle by Suf- 
folk herself. Two days afterwards, Suffolk and Rifle per- 
formed a feat which long stood on the books as the best of 
its kind. They went in double harness against Hardware 
and Apology, two-mile heats. Hardware was a big, tall, 
bay horse, with a short switch tail. Apology, when he 
came to me in 1835, was one of the handsomest horses I 
ever saw. 

In those days it was the fashion to have horses pricked 
and docked ; and so he was deprived of the long tail that then 
adorned him. It was a foolish fashion. The long tails of 
the present day not only make the horses look stylish, but 
are of great service in the heats of summer when flies 
abound, and, do what you will, cannot be kept off the sides 
and flanks of our animals, except by the switching and 
lashing of their own tails. Still, I am not in favor of hav- 
ing them trail the ground, like the trains of ladies in their 
full dresses ; for then they are an inconvenience and unne- 
cessary bother to the trotter and his driver. There is a 
moderation in the matter which should be followed. Some 
people now-a-days seem only to look for a tail, — a long, 
big, luxuriant tail. If they find that, they seem altogether 
careless as to what sort of a horse is before it. Now, I 
advise buyers and breeders to look the horse over first, and, 
if they find him suitable, take him, no matter about the 
tail. Old Abdallah, rough, raw-boned and uncouth to look 
at, but a king among horses, had nothing but a rat-tail. 

Now, to come back to the double-harness trot at Hunting- 
park Course, from which I have been thus led away : Suf- 
folk and Rifle distanced Hardware and Apology the first 
heat in 5m. 19s. It was justly considered a very great per- 
formance ; and, though we have seen Mr. Bonner drive 
Palmer and the Flatbush Maid two miles in his road-wagon 
in 5m. l^s., we must remember that twenty-four years ago, 
when Lady Suffolk and Rifle did their feat, driving in 
double harness was not much followed^ and they had next 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 229 

to no practice with each other. This is a consideration that 
must not be lost sight of; for, though it is possible and proba- 
ble that the Ledger mares might have beaten Suffolk and 
Rifle, it is just about as certain to my mind as any thing 
can be, that hardly any other team, of those that have been 
since prominent, could have done so. 

At the Eagle Course, Trenton, Lady Suffolk was beaten, 
two-mile heats, by Ripton, in 5m. 6s., 5m. 22s. ; and, on the 
1st of August, he beat her and Confidence, three-mile heats 
in harness, in 8m., 7m. 56Js. The backers of Suffolk 
growled lustily, and said, that, if Byrant had let George 
Spicer drive, she could not have lost it. The reason given 
was that she had made better time some other day ; but 
this was fallacious reasoning. There never was a horse yet, 
and there never will be, in my opinion, who, being capable 
of a really great thing, can be relied upon to do it all the 
time. Therefore it is the height of foolishness to expect 
that a trotter will always go up to the best mark he has 
made, unless he is a young and constantly improving horse. 
In order to the accomplishment of the great feat, there was 
probably a combination of favorable circumstances. Weath- 
er, track, driver or rider, and ability of opponents, were all 
happily in a concatenation for speed ; and, in addition to and 
above all this, the horse was right in tune, keyed up to the 
finest pitch. Now, these things may all fall in and combine 
again ; but it is perfect nonsense to expect that they are 
going to do so every day the horse trots in public. Yet a 
great many do so expect ; and, when the race is over, these 
are the ones who fall to cursing the driver or owner, and 
blaming and underrating the horse, when there is in truth 
nothing blamable but their own extravagant expectations. 
It is true that Bryant would drive, and that Spicer could 
drive better ; but I do not admit, that, had Spicer been 
behind the mare, she could have beaten Ripton and myself. 
Lady Suffolk after that beat Independence, two-mile heats 
in harness. He was a long-tailed, chestnut horse, about 



230 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

fifteen hands two inches high. In this trot he was out of 
condition, and was distanced the first heat in 5m. 37s. 

In 1843, Lady Suffolk, Beppo, and Independence went 
mile heats, three in five, under saddle, on the Beacon Course. 
This race was on the 4th of July. It is to be remembered 
that it was catch-weight, and that she carried 1431bs., which 
was two pounds less than required by the rule. The Lady 
was ridden by Albert Conkling. Beppo was a little chestnut 
gelding, with a high head, short switch tail, and very gay 
and gallant style of trotting. He belonged to Mr. James 
Valentine, and was very fast. As early as 1836, this little 
horse, in a trial at the Eagle Course, Trenton, two days 
before he went a race, trotted half a mile in one minute and 
nine seconds. George Youngs rode him on this trial, and 
also in the race with Suffolk and Independence. There 
were five heats of it. The Lady won the first in 2m. 28£s. 
The second was dead between her and Beppo in 2m. 28s. 
The third, Independence won in the same time ; and the Lady 
took the fourth and fifth in 2m. 29s. and 2m. 32s. Inde- 
pendence was ridden in this race by Lewis Bogers, formerly 
of the Bed House, New York. On the 12th of the same 
month, and at the same course, there was a race between 
trotters under saddle, catch-weight, and Oneida Chief pacer, 
in harness. Suffolk carried 1431bs. as before, and Beppo 
1351bs. It was here that the Lady made the time which 
stood at the head of the record for ten years (when Tacony 
beat it) ; and here also it is to be noted that the weight she 
carried was two pounds under the rule. She won in three 
straight heats in 2m. 26^s., 2m. 27s., and 2m. 27s. It has 
often been said that in this race she was just off grass ; but 
this is a mistake. She had gone a race eight days before, as 
I have shown, and was well enough seasoned. for mile heats 
under saddle when she made the fast time. 

On the 19th of July, she met Beppo again under saddle, 
and beat him in 2m. 30^s., 2m. 42^s., 2m. 28s. On the 
15th of August, she went three-mile heats under saddle 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 231 

against the pacer Oneida Chief, who beat her in 7m. 44s. 
and 7m. 52s. The mare was a little off, and Bryant was 
badly blamed again ; but I am unable to see the justice of 
it. In September they went again mile heats, three in five ; 
she under saddle, and the Chief in harness. As usual, I 
drove the horse. The mare won that day in three straight 
heats ; and it is a singular circumstance that the pacer pulled 
a shoe off in each heat. The time was 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s., 
2m. 28^s. Suffolk then beat Confidence in harness in 2m. 
38s., 2m. 39s., and 2m. 41s. At the Kendall Course, Balti- 
more, Oneida Chief beat her three miles under saddle, in 
7m. 48s. ; and he beat her and Dutchman, three mile heats 
in harness, in three heats. The pacer won the first in 7m. 
59s., Lady Suffolk got the second in 8m. 15s., and the Chief 
the third in 8m. Is. It will be seen by the foregoing, that 
the mare was not successful at long distances that year ; and, 
if we should look no further, we might be led to conclude, 
that, though she had gained in speed, she had weakened in 
bottom. In 1844, Lady Suffolk began with long heats, and 
was successful. 

On the 20th of May, at the Beacon Course, she beat 
Americus, Bipton, Washington, and Pizarro, two-mile heats 
in harness, in, three heats, 5m. 17s., 5m. 19s., 5m. 18s. At 
Centreville, on the 6th of June, she won again at three-mile 
heats in harness, beating Columbus in 7m. 51s. and 8m. 2s. 
Then she went three-mile heats on the Beacon against 
Americus and Columbus. Americus won in 8m. 53^s., 8m. 
Is. ; and Columbus was distanced. The marc beat Duchess 
and Washington, over the Beacon Course, in the mud, in 
four heats. Washington won the first in 2m. 38s. Lady 
Suffolk won the other three in 2m. 33 hs., 2m. 34s., 2m. 37s. 
In October, Lady Suffolk went mile heats, three in five, 
against J. C. Calhoun and Fairy Queen, two pacers. They 
had five heats of it. Calhoun won the first and second in 
2m. 29s., 2m. 31s. The trotting-mare took the other three 
in 2m. 28s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s. That concluded her per- 



232 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 



formances m 1844. We shall find, that, next year, she and 
Amencus went at it in downright earnest, and trotted some 
desperate races of long heats. They trotted five times 
and Lady Suffolk won three of the five races ; bnt particu- 
lar mention of these I must postpone until the next chapter 
Amencus and Lady Suffolk were very close together as 
trotters. Both were fast, and both were stout enough to 
go long heats and repeat them often. 



xxvm. 

Suffolk, Brown Columbus, and Americus. — More Races with Americus. — 
Suffolk and Duchess. — Suffolk and Moscow. — Suffolk, Moscow, and 
Americus. — Suffolk and James K. Polk the pacer. — Suffolk and Hec- 
tor? — Suffolk at Saratoga. — Suffolk and Roanoke the pacer. — Suffolk 
and Lady Sutton. — Suffolk and Ripton, between Christmas Day and 
New Year's, — Suffolk, Lady Sutton, and Lady Moscow. — Moscow's 
son, Privateer. — Suffolk, Sutton, and Americus. — Suffolk and James 
K. Polk. — Suffolk lamed at Saratoga. 

I HAVE now brought the public performances of Lady 
Suffolk down to the year 1845, of which I am about 
to speak. Her trotting began that season on the Union 
Coarse on the 28th of April, when she went two-mile heats 
in harness, against Brown Columbus and Americus. Brown 
Columbus was brought here hy Mr. Underbill, who some- 
times drove him. In this race with Suffolk and Americus, 
I drove him myself. He was a horse about fifteen hands 
three inches, a little scant, perhaps, and used to hit his 
knees, so that we had to trot him in boots. I am very often 
asked what is the remedy when a horse hits himself in 
action. The true answer is, that, if it is habitual, there is 
no remedy but to put boots on. Lady Suffolk won the race 
in two heats ; in both of which Columbus was second and 
Americus third. The time of it was 5m. 20s., 5m. 29s. A 
week afterwards Lady Suffolk went two-mile heats in har- 
ness, over the Centreville Course, against Americus. The 

m 

race was a good one of three heats ; of which the Lady won 
the first and third, and Americus took the second. The 
time was 5m. 9s., 5m. 16s., 5m. 12s. 

On the 19th of May, Americus, Lady Suffolk, and Brown 

233 



234 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

Columbus went three-mile heats in harness, on the Union 
Course. Americus won in two heats ; Suffolk was second 
in both, and Columbus distanced in the last of them. The 
time was 8m., 8m. 5^s. The Lady was kept hard at it, as 
usual ; and, on the 3d of June, trotted three-mile heats in 
harness, over the Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, with 
Americus. She won in three heats, of which Americus got 
the first. The time was 8m. 2s., 8m. 7£s., 8m. 17s. 

On the 8th of October, Lady Suffolk trotted mile heats, 
three in five in harness, over the Beacon Course, with 
Duchess. The latter was a brown mare about fifteen hands 
high. She had a habit of switching her tail as she went ; 
and, like Flora Temple and Lady Clifton, she was capital at 
coming in on the home-stretch. If she was on good terms 
with an opponent when she swung into the straight side, it 
was very difficult to beat her out. William Whelan drove 
her in this race. They had four heats of it, and Duchess 
won ; Suffolk only getting the third. The time was 2m. 37s., 
2m. 35|s., 2m. 35^s., 2m. 39s. Five days afterwards, Lady 
Suffolk went against Moscow, mile heats, three in five, in 
harness, on the same course. Moscow was a bay gelding, 
with white legs and a bald face. He belonged to Gen. 
Dunham, and was a big horse, sixteen hands high, raw- 
boned and up-headed. He was a hard puller. In this race, 
Hunt drove him. The Lady won in five heats, the third 
and fourth of which were won by Moscow. The time was 
2m. 34s., 2m. 29 |s., 2m. 30s., 2m. 34s., 2m. 36s. On the 
third day afterwards, and still on the Beacon, they went 
the same race again ; and now Moscow beat her in four heats, 
of which she got the second. The time of these was 2m. 
33|s., 2m. 31is., 2m. 40s., 2m. 35s. 

» The last trot of Lady Suffolk in that year was at the 
Hunting-park Course, Philadelphia, where, on the 29th of 
October, she went three-mile heats in harness against Ameri- 
cus, and was defeated in two straight heats. The time was 
8m. 5s., 7m. 59s. She had been successful this year, on the 



TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 235 

whole, having trotted two races of two-mile heats, both of 
which she won ; three of three-mile heats, one of which she 
won ; and three of mile heats, three in five, one of which 
she won. She had not a saddle on her back in that season 
in any public performance, nor did she go to wagon. 

In 1846, Suffolk did not trot a great number of races. 
She began late in the year, and put them close together, all 
on the Union Course. Her first race was in September, the 
27th, when she went mile heats, three in five, in harness, 
against Moscow and Americus, and won in three straight 
heats. Americus was second in the first heat, but Mos- 
cow beat him in the second and third. The time was 
2m. 3743., 2m. 37s., 2m. 35s. Ten days afterwards, the 
same horses went two-mile heats in harness ; and Americus 
. won it in two straight heats, Lady Suffolk being second in 
both of them. The time was 5m. 13s., 5m. lis. The next 
week they went mile heats, three in five, in harness ; and 
Suffolk won in five heats. Americus got the first in 2m. 
34s. ; Suffolk took the second in 2m. 34^s., and the third in 
precisely the same time. The fourth was a dead heat be- 
tween Americus and Moscow in 2m. 35s. ; and the Lady 
came along in the fifth, and won in 2m. 38 Js. 

In just a week from that day, that is, on the 22d of Oc- 
tober, the Lady met James K. Polk the pacer, at three- 
mile heats. He was to go in harness, with a driver to weigh 
1401bs., which was five pounds under weight ; while she went 
under saddle, with the weight of 1451bs., according to rule. 
This pacer was a hard horse to beat in such a race. He 
was a chestnut gelding, fifteen hands three inches high, 
handsome, and a blood-like horse, with a long, sweeping tail. 
He was also a very hard puller. Albert Conklin drove him, 
and won in two straight heats. The time was good, — 7m. 
46s., 7m. 46^s. Time-bets were made upon the Lady ; and 
her time taken in the first heat was 7m. 49s. She went a 
faster mile in the race than he did ; for her middle mile was 
2m. 30s. ; while his was 2m. 3l£s. This mile was the fastest 



236 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

in the race. On the 18th of November, they met again 
at two-mile heats ; Lady Suffolk in harness, the pacer to 
a wagon. Pie beat her again in two heats of 5m. 8^s., 
5m. 16s. The heats were both close, for her time was but 
half a second more in each. That finished her trotting in 
the year. It was a light one for nei , out, next season, 
Bryant made her do enough to more than make up. 

In 1847, Lady Suffolk's first trot was on the 7th of June, 
when she went against Hector, the little brown horse by 
Abdallah, of whom I have heretofore made mention. It 
was upon the Union Course, and the race three-mile heats 
under saddle ; the Lady staking $500, to $300 on the part 
of the horse. She won it in two straight heats, — 7m. 56s., 
8m. 6|s. Two days afterwards, they went two-mile heats 
under saddle, each to carry 1841bs. She won again in two 
heats ; the time being 5m. 16^s., 5m. 24s. This was great 
weight to carry on a horse's back, exceeding the heaviest 
welter weights in the English steeple-chases, which seldom 
go above 1681bs. On the 14th of July, at the Centreville 
Course, the Lady under saddle went against James K. 
Polk the pacer to wagon, two-mile heats. She distanced 
him the first heat in 5m. 3s. Back again at the Union, on 
the 28th of the same month, she beat Moscow, mile heats, 
three in five, to wagons of lOOlbs. The mare won it in 
three heats, — 2m. 37^3., 2m. 43£s., 2m. 39£s. Aug. 5, 
at the same course, she went mile heats, three in five, to 
wagon, against Moscow in harness, and won again in three 
straight heats, — 2m. 42^s., 2m. 33£s., 2m. 36s. 

Suffolk now took atrip to Saratoga with the other fashion- 
ables, who gladly welcomed at the Springs the coming of 
the Lady in White. On the 14th of August, she trotted 
mile heats, three in five, to wagon of one hundred and one 
pounds, against Moscow in harness, and beat him in three 
straight heats, — 2m. 52s., 2m. 54s., 2m. 44s. From Sara- 
toga, Lady Suffolk returned to Centreville, to go three-mile 
heats against the chestnut pacer James K. Polk. It was on 



THE TROTTING-RORSE OF AMERICA. 237 

the 13th of September. She went under saddle, he in har- 
ness. He beat her in two heats of 7m. 44s., 7m. 53s. 

On the 1st of October, at the same course, she went 
against Roanoke the paces, two-mile heats in harness. This 
horse was a roan, about fifteen and a half hands high, com- 
pactly made, with a long tail. He was known from one 
end of the country to the other almost. At that time Isaac 
Woodruff had him. In the race with Suffolk, he won the 
first heat in 5m. 13s., but was distanced in the next in 5m. 
12^s. On the 15th of that month, at the Union Course, 
the Lady went two-mile heats under saddle, against James 
K. Polk the pacer to wagon. The chestnut beat her in 
two heats of 5m. 4£s., 5m. 9s. On the 28th, the Lady of 
Suffolk went two-mile heats in harness, at the same course, 
against Lady Sutton. This mare was a brown, low but 
sturdy, strong and game, — a mare of very fine stamina and 
endurance. At the time of this trot, James "Whelpley had 
her. Suffolk won the race in two heats, — 5m. 10s., 5m. 
12s. The Lady continued her doings very late that year; 
for the last race she went was on the 28th of December, on 
the Union Course. It was two-mile heats in harness, 
against Ripton. The Lady won in two heats, — 5m. 18-^-s., 
5m. 25^s., — extraordinary time, it must be admitted, to 
make after Christmas, and before New- Year's Day. It will 
have been seen that the Lady was very successful this year : 
for she won nine races out of eleven ; and, in the two wherein 
she was beaten, it was by James K. Polk the pacer, and 
not by any trotter. 

In the following year, 1848, she did not do as much trot- 
ting, by reason of having met with an accident in the mid- 
dle of the season. At the time when this befel her, she had 
been winning races hoof over hoof, and, but for the hurt she 
got, would very likely have made as successful a season of it 
as any she had seen. Lady Suffolk began operations that 
year at the Centreville Course on the 19th of May. She 
went mile heats, three in five, in harness, with Lady Sutton 



238 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

and Lady Moscow. The latter was a handsome bay mare, 
and of great speed and bottom. At that time she was 
owned by John Cutler of Albany ; but afterwards became 
the property of my neighbor and friend, Sim Hoagland of 
East New York. 

In 1865 we saw the last of her, as I mentioned at the 
time. But Sim has one of her colts ; and, unless I am mis- 
taken, he is a real good one. It is the solid, little^ gray horse 
Privateer, by Gray Messenger. I have had my eye on the 
little fellow out of the window, as he has gone by my door, 
on many a morning ; and I predict that he will not disgrace 
his distinguished parentage. The race made by these three 
ladies was a remarkable one of six heats. They were all 
three stayers. Lady Sutton won the first heat ; Suffolk sec- 
ond in 2m. 33s. ; and the second heat was an exact repeti- 
tion as to positions and time. The third heat was won by 
Suffolk, Lady Moscow being second, in 2m. 35s. Suffolk 
also won the fourth heat, and Lady Moscow was again sec- 
ond. Time, 2m. 37s. The fifth heat was won by Lady 
Moscow in 2m. 38s., and Suffolk was second ; and the sixth 
heat Sutton won in 2m. 36s., Suffolk second. John Case 
drove Lady Moscow in that race. 

On the 7th of June, at the same course, Lady Suffolk, 
Lady Sutton, and Americus went two-mile heats to wagons ; 
and another exceedingly good and obstinately contested race 
was the result. Lady Suffolk won the first heat in 5m. 21s., 
Lady Sutton second. The second heat was dead between 
the mares in 5m. 13s. The third heat was also dead between 
the mares ; and Americus was ruled out for not having won 
a heat in three, or made a dead heat. The time of the 
second dead heat was 5m. 17s. The ladies went off again ; 
and, after a capital race, Lady Suffolk won it in 5m. 22s. 

The Lady of Suffolk now had a let-up until the 4th of 
July, when she met her old and vigorous opponent, James 
K. Polk, two-mile heats ; but, while she was under saddle, 
he went to a wagon of two hundred pounds. It was at the 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 239 

Centreviile. The Lady won in two heats, — 5m. 12s., 5m. 
14s. On the 17th, at the same course, Lady Suffolk and 
Lady Sutton went mile heats, three in five, in harness. Lady 
Suffolk won in three heats, — 2m. 31s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 32. 
On the 22d, she went two-mile heats against James K. Polk, 
> — she in harness, the pacer to a wagon weighing 2201hs. 
A close, desperate race of four heats followed. The Lady 
won the first heat in 5m. 22s. Then the pacer took a heat 
in 5m. lGs. The third heat was dead in 5m. 17s. ; and the 
fourth heat the Lady won in 5m. 16s. With the weight 
behind him, the pacer, although defeated, must be held to 
have been an uncommonly good horse that day. 

Having, perhaps, acquired a taste for the fragrant waters 
and other pleasant follies of the mountain springs last year, 
Lady Suffolk again left the briny shores of her native island 
to visit Saratoga in the height of summer-time. It was not 
with as good results as before ; for here the accident befel 
which compelled Bryant to let her up for the balance of the 
year. The trot was mile heats in harness, between Lady 
Suffolk, Lady Moscow, and the gelding Moscow. Lady 
Suffolk won the first heat, but pulled up lame from having 
sprained her ankle. Nevertheless, Bryant started her for 
the second heat ; but, before she had gone far, the mare was 
so lame that her driver was compelled to bring her to a 
stand-still, and the others went on and finished the race. It 
was won by the bay mare in four heats. Lady Suffolk trot- 
ted no more that year ; and some thought, as she was led 
limping away on three legs, that the trotting-turf had seen 
the last of her. But this was a great mistake. The injury 
was not permanent; and the rest gave her wonderfully 
strong and elastic constitution a chance to restore the tone 
of her system. She recovered to such a purpose, that, the 
next year, she trotted no fewer than twenty races, as we 
shall presently see. 



XXIX. 

Suffolk and Lady Moscow. — Suffolk, Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble. — 
Suffolk and Pelharn. — Suffolk, Pelham, and Jack Rossiter. — Lady Suf- 
folk, Lady Sutton, p and Pelharn. — Suffolk,Trustee, and Pelham. — Breeding 
of Trustee. — Description of Trustee — Suffolk and Long-Island Black 
Hawk. — Description of Black Hawk. — Death of Trustee. 

"\TT"E now come to 1849, in which year, as I remarked 
V V in the last chapter, the gray mare came out fresh 
and fine after her let-up by reason of the accident at Sara- 
toga, and trotted twenty races. This arduous season began 
at the Union Course on the 21st of May. Lady Suffolk and 
Lady Moscow went mile heats, three in five, in harness ; and 
the bay mare won in four heats. Suffolk took the first, but 
lost the other three. The time was exactly the same in 
three of these heats, 2m. 34s. The second heat was 2m. 
30s. The Lady now went down East, and trotted three 
races in Providence, R. I. The first was on the 5th 
of June, mile heats, three in five, under saddle. She 
went against Mac, Gray Eagle, and Gray Trouble, all under 
saddle. Mac was a very famous horse, and very fast. He 
was a brown gelding, fifteen and a half hands high. When 
he first came to my notice, he was owned by Mr. Robert 
Walton of Boston. He sold him to Harry Jones of New 
York, who in turn disposed of him to Mr. John McArdle of 
Albany. Gray Eagle was a gray gelding, fifteen hands high, 
and one of the most beautiful little horses ever seen. He 
was well broken, and a splendid driver, looking magnificent 
when going. Gray Trouble was a handsome gray gelding, 
fifteen hands three inches high, of elevated style, and a long 

240 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 241 

strider. Gray Eagle belonged to me. William Woodruff 
rode him in this race. Bryant rode Lady Suffolk, and was 
15Glbs. with the saddle ; so that she carried eleven pounds 
over weight. Mac won in three heats ; and Trouble got into 
trouble in the first, for he was distanced in 2m. 29 |s. The 
time of second and third heats was 2m. 32s., 2m. 31s. 
Suffolk was second in all the heats. 

On the next day, Lady Suffolk, Gray Eagle, and Mac 
went mile heats, three in five, in harness. The Lady won 
in three heats, and Gray Eagle was second in them. Mac 
was distanced in the second heat. The time was 2m. 35£s., 
2m. 34s., 2m. 38£s. Next day, Lady Suffolk and Mac 
went two-mile heats in harness. The horse acted badly, and 
was distanced the first heat in 5m. 20. On the 14th of 
June, the horses that had been at Rhode Island were at 
Boston ; and there, on the Cambridge Course, Lady Suffolk 
made the fastest heat she ever trotted. She went mile 
heats, three in five, under saddle, against Mac and Gray 
Eagle. The first heat was Mac's in 2m. 31s., and the Lady 
second. Gray Eagle was then drawn. The Lady won the 
second heat in 2m. 26., and Mac took the other two in 2m. 
27s., 2m. 29s. On the 25th of June, Suffolk was back at 
the Union Course, and there went against Pelham, mile 
heats, three in five, in harness. Pelham was a bay gelding, 
owned in Boston by Mr. Robert Walton. The horse came 
originally from Maine. He was sold by Mr. Walton to 
Mr. Dennis McReady, and afterwards came into the hands 
of Mr. Jacob Sommerindyke. He was a fast and stylish 
little horse, standing an inch under fifteen hands high. In 
this race he was distanced in the second heat. The time 
was 2m. 29^s., 2m. 33£-s. 

On the 2d of July, at the Centreville Course, Lady Suffolk 
had a close race of mile heats, three in five, in harness, with 
Pelham and Jack Rossiter. The latter was a handsome 
bay gelding, called little, but really about fifteen hands and 
an inch and a half high. He was in the hands of Otis 

16 



242 THE TROTTING-HOESE OF AMERICA. 

Dimmock, who lived when a boy with Mr. Stevens of New 
Jersey, and used to ride the race-horse Henry at exercise, 
after he bought him. He used to exercise him on the sandy 
roads, and, I am informed, says he believes Henry could 
then trot a mile in three minutes. This was good for the 
horse that beat Ecfipse a four-mile heat ; and it is interesting 
and important from the fact that Henry got the dam of 
American Star, whose stock all trot and can almost all stay. 
It shows that the trotting faculty was inherent in the blood 
of Henry. I should have been less surprised to hear that 
Eclipse could trot a mile in three minutes ; for he was a 
grandson of Messenger, being out of his daughter, Miller's 
Damsel. 

In this race at the Centreville, there were five heats. The 
Lady won the first and second in 2m. 32s., 2m. 32|s. ; 
Jack Bossiter second in the first heat, and last in the second. 
The third and fourth heats, Pelham won in 2m. 38s., 2m. 
29 ^s. The fifth heat was won by the Lady in 2m. 34^-s., 
Pelham second. Back now to the Union, where, on the 9th, 
Lady Suffolk went against Mac, mile heats, three in five, 
under the saddle, and was beaten in four heats. She won 
the first and fastest in 2m. 28s. The time of the others was 
2m. 30s., 2m. 31s., 3m. 30s. On the 10th of July, the 
Lady went two-mile heats under saddle, against Mac and 
Jack Bossiter. Mac won in two heats ; the Lady being last 
in the first, and then drawn. The time was 5m. 9s., 5m. 
18s. On the 3d of August, at the Centreville Course, the 
Lady and Lady Sutton had one of the best, longest, and 
most obstinate struggles that there is on record. Pelham 
was in with them. It was mile heats, three in five, in har- 
ness. Isaac Woodruff drove Lady Sutton, and Harry Jones 
Pelham. Bryant drove Lady Suffolk. The contest may be 
said to have been altogether between the mares ; for Pelham 
was last in the first and second heats, and distanced in the 
third. The first and second heats were won by the gray 
mare in 2m. 29£s., 2m. 31s. The third and fourth were 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 243 

secured by the brown mare, in 2m. 30s., 2m. 31^s. The 
fifth and sixth were dead heats, 2m. 32., 2m. 31s. 

When they came home in the sixth heat, they both pre- 
ferred charges of foul driving. As proof that Bryant had 
fouled him, Isaac pointed to one of his wheels, in which one 
spoke was broken out and five or six more damaged. Bryant, 
however, maintained that Isaac was in fault, and showed a 
bruised face. The judges were unable to decide the point 
between them ; and so, sending out patrol judges, they started 
them for another heat. This was won by the gray mare in 
2m. 38s. On the 28th of September, the mares went again 
in the same way, at the same course, and Suffolk won in 
four heats. Lady Sutton won the first. The time was 2m. 
32£s., 2m. 33is., 2m. 34s., 2m. 36s. On the 8th of October, still 
at the Centreville, Lady Suffolk went two-mile heats in har- 
ness, against Lady Sutton and Pelham. They had three heats 
of it, and the brown mare won. Pelham got the first heat, 
Sutton second, in 5m. 16s. Lady Sutton won the second, 
and Pelham was second, in 5m. 17s. In the third, Pelham 
was distanced, and Lady Suffolk was second, in 5m. 20s. 

The next race was one of three-mile heats in harness, on 
the 17th of October, between Lady Suffolk, Trustee, and 
Pelham ; and, before giving it, I am induced to say a little 
about that famous horse, the first twenty-miler. He was 
got, as most of my readers have heard, by the thoroughbred 
horse imported Trustee, out of the trotting-mare Fanny 
Pullen. This mare was bred in Maine ; and it was long 
supposed that she was a descendant of the Maine Messen- 
ger ; but, from a letter which was published in " The Spirit," 
from one who speaks by authority, it now appears that she 
had no known Messenger-blood in her, but had the blood 
closely of a thoroughbred imported horse, who is not other- 
wise known much about. But I think, that, for the game 
and lasting qualities of Trustee, we must look in a great 
measure to his sire, the imported horse, who was of very 
renowned blood. He was got by Catton, a game, strong 



244 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA 

horse, and a four-mile runner at high weights, who was hred 
from the Mercury line of Eclipse ; and is said to have done as 
much for Yorkshire, in England, as any stallion they ever 
had there, getting alike race-horses, hunters, and trotters 
for the stage-coaches. 

Trustee's dam was one of the most famous blood-mares, in 
the estimation of the English, that they ever rejoiced in. 
He was out of Emma, by Whisker, who was own brother to 
Whalebone, Web, and Wire. So Trustee was related to 
Glencoe ; for Web was his grandam. This Emma was also 
the dam of West Australian's dam, and of Mundig and 
Cotherstone, both of whom won the Derby. Mundig, as 
well as Trustee, was by Catton. The trotter Trustee was a 
chestnut horse, about fifteen hands two inches high. He 
was a strong horse, with a very high rump. It looked to 
be higher than his withers ; and this Avas especially the case 
when he was going. He was a low-headed horse, and a 
stout puller. It will be remembered, that, earlier in this 
work, I stated that hard pulling was a habit to be carefully 
discouraged in dealing with trotters ; but that, at the same 
time, there were many horses that could not or would not do 
their best without pulling. Therefore, when a horse pulls, 
I do not think it at all expedient to get rid of the pull by 
means of punishing-bits, bridoons, or such-like devices. 
When a horse gets his head down in breaking, as Kemble 
Jackson did, it is a different matter; but the trotter that 
goes at his best rate while pulling hard had best be borne 
with. If you get rid of the pull by means of the appliances 
I have alluded to, you will soon get rid of some of the trot. 

It is often said that a horse cannot pull hard and last ; and 
this is contrary to the facts I am about to mention. Trustee 
lasted ; and he was a hard puller. Captain McGowan lasted ; 
and he is the hardest-pulling horse in America, I suppose. 
Dexter pu/ls a pound or two, I can assure you ; and he has 
shown his capacity to go on. The truth is, that the pulling- 
horsfts last well enough, but the drivers do not last so long. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 245 

It is just so with the runners. Look at English Eclipse, 
who " pulled a ton," as the saying has it, when he distanced 
his fields. Look at Norfolk, a desperate hard puller, but, 
nevertheless, a thorough stayer. I mention these instances 
in order that you may not be led away by a theory that is 
groundless. To say that a horse can't stay because he pulls, 
is not true. To say that he might stay as well if he did 
not pull so hard, and that he would be much more pleasant 
to ride or drive, is the correct thing. 

To return to Lady Suffolk. In the three-mile race between 
her and Trustee and Pelham, there were three heats. 
Trustee won the first of them in 7m. 45-|s., and the mare 
was second. Pelham was third, and then drawn. The mare 
won the second and third heats in 7m. 52s., 7m. 57s. Lady 
Suffolk's next trot was with Long-Island Black Hawk. 
This latter famous horse was by Andrew Jackson, out of 
Sallie Miller, a mare owned at Philadelphia. She was a 
good one. In 1834 she made Ed. Forrest go in about 2m. 
31s., over the Centreville. Afterward, in 1836, at the same 
course, I held her by the bridle while Andrew Jackson had 
the amorous intercourse with her from which Long-Island 
Black Hawk sprang. The latter, as his name indicates, 
was black. He had four white legs and a star, — a horse of 
the finest symmetry, standing fifteen hands two inches and 
a half high, and a splendid goer. He was a great weight- 
puller, and the first that went in 2m. 40s. to a wagon and 
driver of three hundred and ninety pounds weight. It was 
in his match with Jenny Lind, who belonged to Mr. Joseph 
Goodwin. This race between Suffolk and Black Hawk was 
at the Union Course, on the 24th of October. It was to 
wagon and driver of 3501bs. ; and the mare won in three 
heats. The time was 2m. 45s., 2m. 40s., 2m. 43s. 

On the 7th of November, the Lady went three-mile heats 
in harness, against Trustee, on the Union, and beat him in 
two heats of 8m. 13s., 8m. 15s. On the 12th, at the Centre- 
ville, she went two-mile heats against the pacer Dan Miller. 



246 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

The mare was under saddle, the pacer in harness. They 
had three heats ; of which he won the first, and she the second 
and third. The time was 5m. 3^s., 5. 12s., 5m. 19s. The 
old mare was taken from the Island to Boston to wind up 
that season. There, on the 22d of November, she went with 
Trustee two-mile heats, — she to a wagon of a hundred and 
fifteen pounds, and he to a fifty-pound sulky. She beat him 
in two heats of 5m. 57s., 5m. 34|s. On the 29th, she went 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Gray Eagle ; and 
he beat her in three straight heats of 2m. 37s., 2m. 40s., 2m. 
38s. The Lady's last race that season was on the 12th of 
December. She went two-mile heats against Gray Trouble, 
he in harness and she to wagon. She beat him in two heats 
of 5m. 38s., 5m. 36s. This brought her to the end of 1849 ; in 
which year she trotted sixty heats, many of them being two 
and three mile heats. 

That two-mile heat race at Boston, in November, was the 
last that Trustee ever trotted with Suffolk. He was entered 
in one with her and Moscow the next year, but did not trot 
it. The year following that, he came to his death at Cin- 
cinnati. It was in the Queen-city Course, where, as appears 
from his letter in " The Spirit," Mr. Larkin (name not on 
the bills) went a buffalo-hunting with some Indian braves 
and a great medicine-man called Crisp. On the 13th of 
July, 1851, Trustee, Gray Eagle, Shavetail, and Bluffer 
went a race of three-mile heats in harness, on the course 
named. The day was extremely hot. Trustee won the first 
heat in 8m. 38s. ; but, being in poor condition, succumbed to 
the heat soon after starting for the second three miles, and 
literally died in harness. Gray Eagle came near dying, too, 
and was only saved by prompt blood-letting. The others 
went three heats and the Bluffer was drawn. 



XXX. 

Lady Suffolk in 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853. — Her Retirement and Death. — The 
Story of Flora Tsmple. — Opening Chapter of her History, by George 
Wilkes. 

I DO not propose to follow the career of Lady Suffolk in 
all its further details. Sufficient has been said to show 
what a wonderful mare she was ; and, before she left the 
turf, the shadow of another, and a greater than she, began 
to appear upon the dial. In 1850, Lady Suffolk trotted 
sixteen times, mostly with success ; in 1851, fourteen 
times ; in 1852, fifteen times ; in 1853, twice, and in both 
of these races she was defeated. That was about the last 
of the famous gray mare. She became the property of Mr. 
Ezra White, and died in honorable retirement. She never 
had a foal. The greater than she, to whom I have alluded, 
was Flora Temple ; and her first appearance in history is so 
finely and graphically told in the first chapter of her life by 
George Wilkes, that I mean to make it a part of this book, 
as follows : — 

CHAPTER I. 

The sun shone beautifully in the summer of 1850. It 
shone with peculiar brightness all along the Hudson River 
at that time, and especially in Duchess County ; but no- 
where in the wide world, in the summer of 1850, did its 
beams fall with a more sweet and mellow radiance than in 
the little village of Washington Hollow, about four miles 
back of the town of Poughkeepsie. It seemed, indeed, to 
come into the village with peculiar gladness ; and, from the 

247 



248 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

way its glitter played among the leaves of the trees, and its 
broad, warm flood spread itself fondly upon the field and 
mixed wantonly with the very earth of the road, it appeared 
as if it never desired to withdraw. And every thing in 
Washington Hollow seemed to respond in peaceful happi- 
ness to these visits of the sun ; and day in and day out, 
whenever the sun shone, which it did in Washington Hol- 
low nearly the whole of its allotted term, the village looked 
precisely as cheerful as it did the day before. 
• On one of the finest of these kind of mornings in Wash- 
ington Hollow, in the month of June, of the year of grace 
aforesaid, Jonathan A. Vielee stood listlessly at his stable- 
door, looking out into the road, thinking, doubtless, as wat 
common with the inhabitants of that village, that he had 
never seen the sun shine so bright before, when his atten- 
tion was attracted by the faint clank of a bell ; and, turning 
that way, he saw a stout drover coming down the road with 
fifty or sixty head of cattle, one of which bore the bell that 
had struck his ear. The cattle filed before the practised 
and admiring eyes of Mr. Yielee ; and after them came the 
drover's wagon, drawn by two stout mares, driven by a 
sleepy-looking negro ; and on the other side of the road, but 
near enough to exchange a nod with Mr. Jonathan A. 
Vielee, rode the drover on a graceful gray stallion, keeping 
his charge in line. Mr. Jonathan A. Vielee looked approv- 
ingly upon many of the cattle : he thought the brown mares 
that drew the wagon a very serviceable pair of " horses-of- 
all-work ; " and he admired the tall stallion on which the 
drover rode, as a fine piece of flesh, that showed a good 
many signs of " blood; " but, in all this scrutiny, Mr. Vielee 
saw nothing to excite him from the delightful state of tran- 
quillity which the soft and quiet beauty of the morning had 
put him in. Just, however, as he was about turning his 
head again to the advanced part of the line, something riv- 
eted his attention. 

This something, which riveted the attention of Mr. 



THE TR0TTING-30RSE OF AMERICA. 249 

Jonathan Vielee, was a little, rough-coated bay mare, not 
over fourteen hands two inches high (4 feet 10), tied at the 
tail of the wagon by a rope-halter some three or four feet 
long. There certainly was nothing in the conduct of the 
little bay mare to deserve this attention from the practised 
eye of Mr. Vielee. She was going quietly along, not tug- 
ging at her halter, but yielding to it, and apparently enjoy- 
ing the bright sun of Washington Hollow, as it laved her 
sides and back, and bathed the landscape far and near, as 
if she had belonged to Washington Hollow itself. To judge 
by her manner, as she ruminated over a sweet quid, which 
was occasionally replenished by a sturdy little boy of six 
years of age, who held handfuls of succulent fresh hay to 
her over the tail-board, she was in .much the same tranquil, 
shiny-morning mood as Mr. Vielee himself. Nay, it is not 
impossible (if a certain theory of animal intelligence be 
true), that, as she dropped her large, intelligent eye reflect- 
ively upon Mr. Jonathan Vielee, she thought, just at the 
moment when Mr. Vielee mentally exclaimed, " That's a 
mighty game-looking little mare ! " — we say it is not im- 
possible, that, at that very moment, she might quietly have 
thought, " There's a man who knows something about a 
horse ! " 

And Mr. Jonathan Vielee would not have been misrepre- 
sented by the little mare, had she even given utterance to 
this idea. He had a sharp eye for the points of a horse ; 
he had dealt a great deal in that way ; and, as he gazed at 
the little mare's blood-like head, traced her fine, well-set 
neck, firm shoulders, strong, straight back, long barrel well 
ribbed up, powerful forearms, fine pasterns, short cannon 
bones, and general display of muscle, he thought he would 
like to inquire into her mouth, and take a peep or two at 
her feet. Mr. Jonathan Vielee hailed the drowsy-looking 
nigger who drove the wagon, and brought the drover to a 
stand-still with a more respectful but not less meaning sig- 
nal. Then those civilities which are due between all peo- 



250 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

pie in bright mornings, as well in Washington Hollow as 
everywhere else, passed between the drover and our good 
friend of Washington Hollow; and presently Mr. Vielee had 
the little bay mare by the nose, and was studying every 
mark upon her teeth. He then took hold of her feet ; and 
the little mare lifted them successively in his hand with a 
quiet, downward glance, that seemed to say, " You'll find 
every thing right there, Mr. Vielee, and as fair and as firm 
as if you wished me to trot for a man's life ! " And so Mr. 
Vielee did ; and, as he dropped the last foot, he liked the 
promise of the little mare amazingly ; and it struck him, that, 
if he could get her for any sum short of $250, she would 
be a mighty good bargain. 

" She is about five years old ? " said Mr. Vielee, inquir- 
ingly. 

" You have seen for yourself," replied the drover. 

"I should judge she was all right?" again suggested 
Mr. Vielee, partly walking round the mare, and again look- 
ing at her up and down. 

"Sound as a dollar, and kind as a kitten," responded the 
drover, as firmly as if prepared to give a written guarantee. 

u Not always so kind, neither, " said Mr. Vielee, looking 
again steadily at the mare's face ; " or I don't understand 
that deviltry in her eye. But that's neither here nor there : 
you say the mare is for sale. Now, let's know what you'll 
take for her." 

This inquiry of Mr. Vielee's was the opening of a highly 
scientific display of diplomacy between him and the rider 
of the gray stallion ; which, after lasting some three-quarters 
of an hour, during which the little bay mare was put 
through all her paces in one of Mr. Vielee's wagons, result- 
ed in her passing permanently from the halter at the tail 
of the wagon into the possession of Mr. Jonathan Vielee, 
for the sum of $175. 

" And a pretty good price at that," said the drover to 
himself, on pocketing the cash, " for an animal that only 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 251 

cost me i eighty/ and who is so foolish and nighty that she 
will never be able to make a square trot in her life." 

The drover could give no satisfactory answer to Mr. Vie- 
lee's inquiries about the origin, or, to speak more profession- 
ally, about the pedigree, of the little bay mare. All that he 
could say was, that he had bought her in Utica of a young 
man who had for some time been endeavoring to dispose of 
her in connection with another little mare, which he had 
vainly endeavored to drive with her in double harness. The 
fault of the team laid against the crazy disposition of the 
little creature whom we have now under consideration ; so, 
when they were offered for sale together, in a place where 
both of them were known, our intractable little beauty was 
invariably rejected, and finally the owner was obliged to 
dispose singly of her mate. 

This was all the drover could tell about the matter ; but, 
had he been thoroughly instructed in the antecedents of the 
little bay mare, he might have told him that she was foaled 
in Oneida County, near Utica, out of a mare the very pic- 
ture of herself, who had been most happily united with a 
fine stallion, named One-Eyed Hunter, who was by Ken- 
tucky Hunter, well known among the thoroughbreds of the 
Western and Southern States. She was docked with a 
jack-knife before she was an hour old, and stood on her feet 
at that time, having the same gray hairs at the roots of her 
tail that she brought into Washington Hollow, and carries 
to this day. Her owner, Mr. Tracy, kept her till she was 
four years old, when, finding her wilful and unserviceable, 
he disposed of her to Mr. William II. Congdon of Smyrna, 
Chenango County, for the sum of thirteen dollars. Mr. 
Congdon, after keeping her a while, disposed of her to Kelly 
& Eichardson for sixty-eight dollars ; and, after changing 
hands once or twice more, she found herself at last standing 
as we have described her, on a bright Sunday morning, in 
the centre of Washington Hollow, listening attentively to 
the conversation that was passing between the drover and 
Mr. Jonathan Vielee. 



252 THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

Now, if the little bay mare could have foreseen and com- 
prehended the brilliant influence -which this bargain between 
the drover and Mr. Vielee was to have upon her destiny, 
she could not have evinced more joy than she did on this 
bright, soft, sunshiny summer morning, in the year of grace 
1850, when she was taken from the tail of the drover's 
wagon, and led into Mr. Vielee's comfortable, well-aired 
stable. She danced around him, as he led her across the 
road, to the full stretch of her halter j she tossed her head 
gayly up and down ; she ran forward, and put her nose play- 
fully over his shoulder ; and, when she got into her clean, 
cozy, well-strewn stall, she whinnied long and slowly and re- 
peatedly, with profound delight. 

But, if this pleasure on the part of the little bay mare 
proceeded from any notion that she had found an established 
home, her calculations were very much astray. Mr. Vielee 
was a practical man of business ; and his main idea in the 
way of business was to turn a rapid penny, and invest the 
profits of one good transaction immediately into another. 
He knew that he had a most promising piece of horseflesh, 
— one that united all the outside conceivable marks of 
merit ; and, with a correct judgment, he concluded that the 
city of New York — the great ^arena where the best trotting- 
blood of the country is collected and pitted in continual con- 
test — was the place where the new-found jewel would com- 
mand the highest mark. "There's no telling what she 
may not be able to-do in time," thought Mr. Vielee in con- 
nection with this resolution j " for if, with that fine make 
and immense muscle, she only settles into a handy style of 
going, — a style that don't waste any of her power in false 
action, — she may yet be able to beat 'em all." 

With such thoughts as this in his head, Mr. Vielee kept 
the mare in his stable barely two weeks ; and, at the end of 
that time, he took her to New York. As he took her there 
to sell, it is not necessary to this history that we should 
trace his steps, further than to say, that, finding an oppor- 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 253 

tunity to double his money, he sold the rough-coated, un- 
known little bay mare to Mr. George E. Perrin of this me- 
tropolis, for the sum of $350. 

In the hands of Mr. Perrin, the little bay mare, who had 
proved so intractable, so flighty, so harem-scarem, and, to 
come down to the true term, so tvortldess, to her original 
owners, was favored with more advantages than ever she 
had enjoyed before. She was not only introduced to the 
very best society of fast-goers on the Bloomingdale and 
Long-Island Roads, but she was taught, when "flinging 
herself out" with exuberant and superabundant spirit all 
over the road, as it were, to play her limbs in a true line, 
and give her extraordinary qualities a chance to show their 
actual worth. If ever she made a skip, a quick admonition 
and a steady check brought her to her senses ; and when, in 
her frenzy of excitement at being challenged by some 
tip-top goer, she would, to use a sportsman's phrase, " travel 
over herself," and go " up " into the air, she was steadied and 
settled down by a firm rein into solid trotting and good 
behavior in an instant. The crazy, flighty, half-racking 
and half-trotting little bay mare became a true stepper, and 
very luckily passed out of her confused " rip-i-ty clip-i-ty" sort 
of going, into a clean, even, long, low, locomotive-trotting 
stroke. Many a man who came up to a road-tavern, after 
having been unexpectedly beaten by her, would say to her 
owner, as they took a drink at the bar, "That's a mighty 
nice little mare of yours ; and, if she was only big enough to 
stand hard work, you might expect a good deal from her." 

There was at that time, as there has been for the last 
twenty years, many horses of great repute upon the roads 
in the vicinity of New York ; and, among the horses which 
now and then came in disdainful contact with the little bay 
mare, was one of considerable speed and fame, called " The 
"VYaite Pony." 

If his oats had sprouted into salt hay under his touch, the 
proud and supercilious Waite Pony could not have been 



254 THE TROTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 

more surprised, one fine afternoon in that same summer of 
1850 so oftei already noticed, when, in a mile contest in that 
stretch of road which lies between Burnham's and Elm 
Park, the little bay mare beat him to what is called "a 
stand-still," and deposited her owner in advance of his at 
Stryker's Bay. This caused the little bay mare to be looked 
at very closely by everybody on the stoop of the house at 
Striker's Bay ; and, while the idlers and horse-sharps were 
descanting on her points, the owners of the respective horses 
made a match that they should go against each other on 
the Red-House Track on the following afternoon. It was a 
mere road-match, this match between the Waite Pony and 
the little bay mare, — a match of fancy, not of profit ; but, 
though of this nature, the reputation of the little mare had 
been growing so rapidly of late that a large number of the 
habitues of the road were present at the contest. 

The track was a half-mile track, the same that is still 
attached to the above-named house ; and the race was for a 
single mile in harness. At starting, the odds were all 
against the mare: but they changed as soon as she got off; 
and she won with the greatest ease, and with the power, as 
was plain to every looker-on, to have reduced the time of 
the performance by several seconds. As, however, the time 
was considerably over three minutes, it did not increase the 
reputation of the mare as much as it discounted her com- 
petitor. A match was, therefore, soon after made between 
her and a fine horse known as Vanderburg's gray stallion, 
for $£00 a side, mile heats, the stallion to go to a 2501b. 
wagon, and the mare to go in harness. This match 
came off on the Union Course, Long Island, and was easily 
won in three heats by the mare in very handsome time. 

The next exploit of the little bay mare was the winning 
of a stake, on Sept. 9 of that same year of grace, on 
the same course, for which she was entered after arriving 
on the ground. She was not in racing-trim. On the 
previous day, she had been driven very hard j and, on coming 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 255 

home that night, was treated with a "warm mash/' and 
virtually put to bed. On the next morning, however, she 
looked so fine that her owner concluded to go and see the 
race ; and on the road she behaved so well, and beat so many 
going down, that he determined, "just for a flyer," to let 
her try her mettle for the purse. The race was a race of 
mile heats in harness ; and the horses entered were White- 
hall, Delaware Maid, Napoleon, and Hiram. The first- 
named horse, a fine brown stallion entered by James 
Whelpley, was the contestant of the greatest promise : but 
all the others were well thought of; and their owners, being 
among the most popular patrons of the trotting-turf, had 
given to the race considerable interest. 

' It was a bold exploit to enter that comparatively unknown 
little runt of a mare, under such circumstances, against such 
horses ; and when her owner, unable to obtain a trotting 
" skeleton," determined to put her through in a common road- 
sulky, his conduct was looked upon as audacious in the 

extreme. 

At length the start was given, and away they went. The 
five horses and sulkies were all well together for a few 
seconds, when Whitehall, with a fine, bold stroke, drew out 
of the clump, and took a commanding lead : the little bay 
mare, however, in the battered road-sulky, kept making her 
long, low, sweeping stride directly in his wake, with the 
regularity of machinery, and threatening to travel past him 
the first moment he should lose his foot. At the first-quar- 
ter pole, there was but one length distance between the 
stallion and the mare ; at the half-mile, but barely two : 
while the others, with the exception of Delaware Maid, who 
was tolerably well up, were being tailed off in most disas- 
trous manner. In this order, the heat was won by Whelp- 
ley's stallion; the little bay mare, with the heavy road- 
sulky, whom nobody thought would have the least chance 
in the world, being second; Delaware Maid, third; while 
Napoleon and Hiram were "distanced." The two latter 



256 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

being now out of the race, the little bay mare secured a 
trotting-sulky for herself: and the record gives her the three 
succeeding heats in the improving time of 2.55, 2.52, and 
2.49; Delaware Maid being third on each occasion. The 
greatest excitement attended the conclusion of the third and 
fourth heats ; and, when the race was done, the spectators 
advanced and felt the little heroine all over, as if they could 
not comprehend how such a petite, indifferent-looking crea- 
ture could stand the weight and fatigue, and yet maintain 
the speed she did. 

The latter was the first exploit that introduced the little 
bay mare to the pages of the "Racing Calendar." She was 
recorded under the modest name of " Flora ; " and it was 
little thought by those who placed after her name on this 
occasion the mystical figures "2 11 1," that she was 
destined in future to render those tables so illustrious." 

After this trot, the little bay mare, or Flora Temple as 
we are now at liberty to call her, passed into the hands of 
John C, the brother of George E. Perrin, for the sum of 
$575, — a very handsome increase over the price paid by Mr. 
Jonathan Vielee to the drover, and more than seven times 
as much as the sum for which she had been gladly parted 
with by her Utica owner some three or four months before. 

Soon after obtaining possession of her, the new owner of 
Flora Temple, with unbounded confidence in her speed and 
lasting qualities, matched her that winter against the bay 
horse of Mr. Edward White, for three-mile heats in harness, 
to trot in the following spring (1851), for $2,000, half for- 
feit. About six weeks before this match was due, however, 
the mare met with an accident in her exercise which would 
have rendered her unfit to go ; but, this accident being un- 
known to Mr. White, and his own horse being " out of 
trim," he paid forfeit, and the match was "off." 

Nothing was done with the little bay mare in the spring, 
summer, and winter of 1851. The fright which she had 
taken, from the shafts of her sulky knocking against her 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 257 

heels in the accident referred to, rendered her appre'ieasive, 
wild, and flighty ; and it was found necessary to take her 
out of training, and put her on the road. In that position 
she remained till the following summer (1852), when her 
owner, finding that she had regained her confidence and 
steadiness again hy beating with great ease the bay mare 
Philadelphia Sal round the Red-House Track for a stake 
of $200, made a match against Young Dutchman, for $250 
a side, mile heats, best three in five, in harness, to come 
off on the Union Course, on Nov. 10. Though this 
match excited considerable interest, there was nothing about 
it to particularize. The mare won in three heats, placing 
herself indisputably u well up " among the first-class horses 
by recording the time at 2.40, 2.39, and 2.36. She was then 
taken out Of training, and put in winter quarters at Jamaica, 
L.I. ; and, as we have given her an opportunity to express 
herself in thought once or twice before, we may be allowed 
to imagine, that, when she left the course at the close of the 
last contest, she might have meant to say, in her low neigh 
of triumph, "Little as I am, I am now mistress of the 
trotting-course, and let no one henceforth value me at less 
than $2,000!" 



ar 



XXXI 

Capacity of Small Horses to pull Weight. — Flora Temple and Centreville. 

— Flora and Black Douglas. — Flora and Young Dutchman. — Flora and 
Lady Brooks. — Flora and Highland Maid. — Breeding of Highland Maid. 

— Description of her. — Her Races with Flora. 

IT will be remembered that I have spoken of three prime 
qualities in the trotting-horse ; viz., speed, bottom, and 
the power to pull weight. I was already confident that little 
Flora possessed the last, as well as the other two. People 
are apt to think that great size is demanded for a weight- 
puller, but there are plenty of notable instances to show that 
this is a mistake. Still, though there need not be great size, 
and though some big horses are the very worst of weight- 
pullers, coming right back as soon as they are required to 
take along a wagon and a heavy man, strength is certainly 
demanded. This strength in small horses is the result of 
a nice adaptation of parts, together with particular power in 
the loin and hind-quarters. If a little horse of that sort be 
particularly examined, it will commonly be found, that, 
though they are low, they are long in all the moving parts ; 
and their quarters are generally as big, and sometimes a 
deal bigger, than those of many much larger horses. 

Having in my mind the conviction that Flora was a 
weight-puller, as well as fast and stout, I matched her in 
December, 1852, for $500 a side, to trot, mile heats, three 
in five, with Centreville, to wagons of 2501bs. The mare 
had been let up, and had had no fast work for three or four 
weeks. She had, however, been jogged. Centreville was 
held to be very nearly or quite the best weight-puller we 

258 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 259 

had at that time, and some endeavored to dissuade me from 
starting the little mare. It was 100 to 70 on the horse at 
the start. As soon as the word was given, Flora went with 
such a rush that she was over herself on the turn, and lost 
a good many lengths before she settled to work ; hut at the 
quarter-pole she had recovered her stroke, and she soon over- 
hauled Centre ville, and gave him a sight of a fast stern- 
chase. Joel Conkling drove him ; and, finding that he could 
not come up with Flora, he took him in hand, and just 
dropped into the distance. The mare won the heat with 
great ease in 2m. 42s. The heat was a good one ; and Flora 
had trotted so fast after her break that everybody could see 
she was mistress of the weight. Odds of 100 to 60 was 
forthwith laid upon her ; and she won the second and third 
heats in 2m. 46s. and 2m. 44s. 

Considering the time of year, the state of the ground, 
and the fact that she was not in reality in training, this was 
a performance of uncommon significance, and it added vastly 
to Flora's value. That winter she was sold to Mr. Boerum 
of Williamsburg, with an engagement to trot Young Dutch- 
man for $1,000. The price paid for Flora was $4,000. She 
had, as was before related, been sold by George Perrin to 
his brother John for $575 in the previous spring. A great 
race very often adds immensely to the value of a horse, or 
rather, I should say, it vastly increases the price that the 
world is inclined to rate the horse at. Flora's is not the 
only instance I have known in which a trotter jumped from 
hundreds almost to thousands by reason of one performance. 
It sometimes happens that it is not the interest of the 
owners to let the horse be placed in a situation to do his best 
in public ; and, again, a trainer of good observation and 
faith will sometimes be far ahead of the owner and of the 
public in his estimate of a horse. 

Before the match between Flora and Young Dutchman 
came off, she went to Philadelphia to trot with Black Doug- 
las, a you r.g horse of great private reputation. They trot- 



260 THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

ted mile heats, three in five, in harnesss, on the Hunting- 
park Course, April 23, the spring of 1853. The mare was 
big and lacked seasoning. The horse was fast, and beat 
her in three straight heats, — 2.35^, 2.30-^-, 2.35. This was 
a great performance for a green horse ; but the little mare 
was forthwith matched to try the cause with him again on 
the 17th of the next month. Meantime she returned to 
New York for her meeting with Young Dutchman, which 
was to have come off on the Union Course on the 3d ; but 
the Dutchman paid forfeit, not being up to the mark, and 
a match was made between Flora and Lady Brooks. 

The latter was a good mare. Her friends were so fond 
of her, and there was so much bragging and boasting in re- 
gard to her speed and staying qualities, that 100 to 60 was 
laid against Flora. They trotted mile heats, three in five, 
at the Centreville, for $1,000, on the 4th of May. I liked 
the little mare well that day, and told my friends to take 
the odds to any amount. I knew a little of Lady Brooks 
myself; and, if there is one thing that a trainer and driver 
needs above all others except knowledge and skill, it is to 
turn an absolutely deaf ear to the boastings of his oppo- 
nents. Flora won the race in three straight heats, — 2.31 \, 
2.32, 2.33|. They were all won with great ease j and not 
one of them was as fast as they all were to have been, ac- 
cording to what was proclaimed as to the capability of Lady 
Brooks. In this race Flora had fine speed. One of the 
half-miles was trotted in 1.13, and I took her in hand. She 
was now eight years old, very sound, of good constitution, 
a capital feeder, and was all the time improving. I say all 
the time improving ; for, though she had been beaten by 
Black Douglas, I was satisfied that she would give a good 
account of him at their next meeting on the 17th. I had 
not driven her in her first trot with Douglas ; but this time 
I went on with her. She suited the amateurs and trotting- 
men so well when she was hitched up, and I warmed her 
previous to the start, that she was backed at 100 to 80. The 



THE TRQTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 261 

Douglas was of no comparative account to her that day. 
She won in three heats, — 2.32J, 2.35, 2.31|. Another 
match was made between them to trot on Long Island on the 
30th of June ; but, before that came off, Flora had a very 
hard race, and, if luck as well as her own speed and thorough 
game had not stood her friend, it is a question whether she 
would not have been beaten. 

At that time, Mr. F. J. Nodine of Brooklyn owned two 
very fine young mares, as well as Centreville, who had been 
beaten by Flora in 1852. This horse Centreville was a dark- 
brown gelding, nearly sixteen hands high. When he trot- 
ted against Flora, Mr. Nodine, who was a very good and ex- 
perienced driver, was asked to drive him a heat. He com- 
plied, and liked the horse so well that he bought him after 
the race. In 1853, he was quite successful with him. He 
got forfeits from Gray Medoc and Beggar Boy; and he beat 
Black Douglas to wagons in five heats, of which the time 
was 2.34, 2.32, 2.35, 2.33, 2.32. He also beat the Douglas 
in harness ; and here again they had five heats of it, of which 
the time was 2.30£, 2.32, 2.32|, 2.33, 2.33£. As Flora had 
recently defeated these horses, she must have stood high in 
the estimation of Mr. Nodine ; but, for all that, he matched 
one of the young mares he had against her. 

The mare in question was Highland Maid. She was bred 
in Orange County, and foaled in 1847 ; consequently she 
was but six years old when she met the redoubtable Flora 
Temple. Highland Maid was exceedingly well-bred. Her 
sire was Saltram, a horse by Kentucky Whip out of a Gray- 
Messenger mare ; and her dam was a flea-bitten gray mare 
of the Messenger blood. It follows that Highland Maid 
was inbred to Messenger. Her own color was dark bay, 
with a star in the forehead, and a little white in the heels 
behina. She stood about fifteen hands and half an inch 
high, and was low at the withers. She was, indeed, remark- 
able fcr her great height behind, as compared to her fore- 
hand ; ind this formation, with her immense loin, which was 



262 TI1E TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

one of the strongest and best that ever was seen, tended 
greatly to give her the long, fast, and powerful stroke of 
which she was capable. She had a great reaching stride, 
gathered quick, and went with her head Low. Her first race 
after Mr. Nbdine got her was against Lady Vernon, a dap- 
ple-gray mare belonging to Jacob Somerindyke. She was 
afterwards sent to California. Highland Maid beat her in 
three heats, the time of which was 2.34}, 2.36, 2.32$ 

The matches between Highland Maid and Flora Temple 
were in harness and to wagons. The first was trotted on 
the Centreville Course, June 1T\ 1853. The race created a 
great deal of interest, and much money was laid. It WM 
said that Highland Maid had been tried, and found to be 
amazingly fast. I have since been told that the time of her 
mile-trial, a week before the race, was 2m. 18s. The day 
was very hue, — a real June day, bright and warm, but not 
too hot for pleasure. The crowd at the course was immense : 
a greater attendance has seldom been seen there, if there 
ever was. Mr. Nodine drove Highland Maid, and I drove 
Flora. I took the lead in the first heat, and kept it round 
the turn nearty to the quarter-pole ; then Highland Maid 
passed me, and I was never afterwards able to head her. 
She won the heat in 2m. 29s., and both seemed to me to be 
doing about all they were capable of. 

The second heat was very similar to the first, but faster. 
Flora and I took the lead again for nearly a quarter of a 
mile, and then Highland Maid came on with an irresistible 
stroke and passed us. I pushed her all I could ; and, though 
she won it in 2m. 27s., I thought I detected signs of her 
tiring. The mare was young. She had trotted but one 
race before. She had a trick of pacing ; and I hoped to tire 
her out. and make her change her gait in the next heat. 
The odds was now very heavy upon her. In the third heat 
we went away together at a tremendous pace, and, upon the 
turn, the wheels of the sulkies hit. The spokes flew, and 
Highland Maid went up, and came down into a pace. It 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 2G3 

was near the half-mile before Mr. Nodine got her settled to 
trot again. When he did so, she went very fast, and it 
looked as though she might save her distance. But she was 
tiring. At the head of the stretch, she broke again, fell a- 
pacing, and was distanced in 2m. 32J,s. 

A great row followed. Some of those who had lost their 
money accused Nodine of throwing the race, and threatened 
hnn with violence. lie intended to claim foul driving 
against me, but could not get near the judges' stand, by 
reason of the clamors and threats of those who had lost their 
money on Highland Maid. His claim would not have been 
allowed, I think ; and Flora would have beaten Highland 
Maid that day, even if she had saved her distance in the 
third heat. It was, however, very unjust to charge Mr. 
Nodine with throwing the race. The truth is, that the mare 
tired, and, when tired, went into a pace as soon as she was 
forced hard. I have had them do just the same with me 
when the race seemed to be all but won. However, the 
charges of those who had lost money, and the prejudices of 
the public, very few of whom knew the rights of it, pre- 
vailed upon Mr. Nodine to get George Spicer to drive High- 
land Maid in the wagon-race. It came off on the Centre- 
ville Course, June 28, only two days before Flora trotted 
her third match with Black Douglas. I thought Flora a 
better mare that day than I had ever seen her before. Her 
races, and the work she had undergone, had done her good. 
It was always one of her great qualities that she would train 
on and get better, when thoroughly hardened, towards the 
middle and close of the season. This is one of the most 
valuable qualities that a trotting-horse can have. The 
greatest excellence in trotting, as I observed at the begin- 
ning of this work, is only to be reached through much labor 
and cultivation. Now, if strong work at a few sharp races 
overdoes a horse and knocks him off, it is a great, almost an 
insurmountable, obstacle to his attaining the greatest ex; el- 
lence, even in speed for a mile. 



264 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

When I got into the wagon to drive Flora against High- 
land Maid, I was confident that I had the bottom and reso- 
lute game of one of the best little mares in the world to 
rely upon, and consequently I determined to force the pace. 
We went away together with a grand rush, and, on the turn, 
Highland Maid broke. Spicer got Highland Maid to her 
trot again, and I kept the pace strong. It was a good heat. 
The Maid was unable to collar Flora, who won it by two 
lengths in 2m. 28s. That was much the best time that had 
then been made. The fastest time to wagon previously was 
2m. 31s. This heat in 2m. 28s. was three seconds better. 
It is true that Flora afterwards wiped that out, and went 
three seconds better still ; and also true that George Wilkes 
has since equalled her wagon-time, — 2m. 25s. I will even 
state my confident belief that Dexter can beat that quite 
handily ; but, nevertheless, we must remember that this race 
with Highland Maid was thirteen years ago, and, at the time, 
it was esteemed a wonderful performance. 

In the second heat, Flora did not do so well. She broke 
and lost a deal of ground at the outset. Highland Maid 
won the heat very handily in 2m. 32s. The third heat was 
a very severe one. Soon after we got the word, Flora 
changed her leg, and tried to get up ; but I was on the watch, 
and nailed her in time. We went head and head to the 
quarter. At the half-mile, there was not much difference. 
On the lower turn, I got half a length the best of it ; but 
somehow or another, and I could not tell just how, Flora 
broke there and then, and Highland Maid showed me the 
back of her wagon. But, when Flora got down again, she 
made a very hot rush, and up the stretch she gained on 
Highland Maid. Seeing that she was honest, and would 
stand it, I gave her a good cut with the whip as we neared 
the score. She darted on to Highland Maid; and they 
struggled home together, making it a dead heat in 2m. 32s. 

The fourth heat was unfavorable to us. Flora broke twice. 
The other mare trotted steadily, and won easily in 2m. 33s. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 2G5 

The next heat was another good one, being trotted from end 
to end. Flora took the lead at the start, was never headed, 
and won in 2m. 31|s. ; but Highland Maid trotted exceed- 
ingly well, and hung on all round the lower turn in a very 
game manner. But she was younger than Flora, and not 
so well seasoned. She was now tired. In the sixth heat 
Flora took the lead from the start, was never headed, and 
won easily in 2m. 35s. The race did not seem to have much 
effect upon Flora Temple. Two days after it, she beat Black 
Douglas easily in 2m. 32s., 2m. 32s., 2m. 36s. It was other- 
wise with Highland Maid. She was not herself for some 
time afterwards ; and some are of opinion that she never 
altogether recovered from its effects. This mare was very 
highly bred, very finely put together, and very fast. But 
she was an unlucky mare. She was afterwards matched 
with Gray Eddy, and lost by hitting her knee. After that 
wagon-race, Flora was deemed the mistress of any thing out 
in that way of going. 



XXXII. 

Flora Temple and Tacony. — Description of Tacony. — Flora, Green-Moun- 
tain Maid, and Lady Vernon. — Description of Green-Mountain Maid — 
Flora and Ekode Island. — Flora goes to New Orleans, comes back, and 
is purchased by Mr. Pettee. — Flora and Mac. — Flora and Jack Waters. — 
Flora and Sontag. — Flora's Match Twenty Miles to Wagon. — Flora and 
Know-Nothing.— Description of Know-Nothing, afterwards Lancet. — Flora 
and Lady Franklin. — Flora and Chicago Jack. — Flora, Frank Forrester, 
Chicago Jack, and Miller's Damsel. 

AS soon as Flora had defeated Highland Maid and 
Black Douglas, she was matched against Tacony, 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, the race to come off 
on the 14th of July, over the Union Course. Tacony was 
a roan gelding, hred in Canada. His reputation was high, 
but more particularly as a saddle-horse. He had trotted 
two consecutive heats, that way of going, against Mac, in 
2m. 25hs. each. The match created avast amount of interest. 
The betting ran high, and it was about even. The little 
mare had not made such fast time as Tacony : but the heat 
of 2m. 28s. to wagon was thought to be as good as 2m. 25|s. 
under saddle ; and, besides this, the game and bottom ex- 
hibited by Flora in her race of five desperate heats with 
Highland Maid, and then in her contest with Black Douglas 
only two days thereafter, had inspired her friends and ad- 
mirers with very great and reasonable confidence. 

The attendance at the course was large, and the mare had 
a trifle the call in the betting. I thought well of her, 
although she did not exhibit as much of her dash and devil 
in scoring as I had sometimes experienced. The result con- 
vinced me that she was not quite up to the mark. The 

266 



THE TROT TING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 267 

gelding was an uncommon good horse that daj r , and he won 
it in three heats. The first heat was a close and desperate 
struggle. Tacony lead about a length to the quarter, where 
the mare got to his girths. She staid there for half a mile, 
both of them doing their best, as near as might be. At the 
head of the stretch we were close together. Tacony gained 
from thence to the draw-gate, where he led two lengths. But 
the mare answered my call, and darted to his head. It was 
the signal for a great shout from the crowd ; and, just at that 
moment, up she went. Tacony won it by a neck in 2m. 28s. 
The second heat was faster, closer, and harder still ; but he 
won it in 2m. 27s. The third heat was another desperate 
struggle ; and, though Flora was defeated, it was only by a 
short head in 2m. 29s. 

Before the day was altogether done, we matched the 
horses again, two-mile heats in harness, to trot in five days. 
I did not think that Flora had been quite at her best that 
day ; and, though it had been a hard, up-hill struggle for her, 
it was my opinion that she would recover from the effects 
of it quite as soon as Tacony would. To be sure, she had 
been beaten, while he had won ; but, when horses trot three 
very close heats, it takes as much out of the winner as it 
does out of the loser, provided the loser possesses that game- 
principle, which, instead of being discouraged by defeat, 
rather is incited to put the matter to a further issue and 
avenge it. She was then, and remained to the last, a 
wonderful mare to " come again." 

I liked her on the day of the two-mile race, and she won 
it easily in two heats, — 4m. 59s., 5m. Is. This was the 
best two-mile time that had then been made. Soon after 
that race, I went with Flora to Saratoga, where she beat 
Tacony, mile heats, three in five, in harness, in 2m. 32s., 2m. 
31s., 2m. 32s., on the 26th of July. The track was heavy. 
On the 30th we were at it again, two-mile heats in harness ; 
and she beat the roan horse in 5m. 4s., 5m. IOJs. We 
then went on to Rochester, where Tacony beat Flora, mile 



268 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

heats in harness, hut was himself defeated three days after- 
wards, to wagons, in three heats. Utica was the next place ; 
and there Flora beat him in a capital race of three straight 
heats, — 2.331 2.27, 2.28^. The mare heat him again 
at Saratoga, and at Philadelphia in September. She then 
returned home, and remained until October. On the 15th 
of that month she was at Philadelphia again, there* to con- 
tend with Green-Mountain Maid and Lady Vernon, at mile 
heats, three in five, in harness, for a purse of $1,000. 

Green-Mountain Maid was a mare of the Messenger blood 
on the sire's side. She was bred in the Green Mountains 
of Vermont, and was got by the famous horse Harris's Ham- 
bletonian (also called Vermont Hambletonian), a grandson 
of Messenger. It is not known what her dam was. Green- 
Mountain Maid herself was a chestnut, fifteen three inches 
scant, very long in the body, with strong, powerful limbs 
and large quarters. Her shoulders were very flat and 
oblique, running right back to the saddle. She belonged to 
Mr. P. J. Nodine, who purchased her and brought her to 
Brooklyn in the fall of 1851, when she was five years old. 
She was entered in six or seven purses and stakes the next 
year ; and what she didn't win, she received forfeit for. At 
the Centreville Course, in the following year, she beat Lady 
Brooks in four heats to wagons. The best time was 2m. 
36s. It was on the 18th of April. Three days afterwards 
she beat Kemble Jackson, in a desperate race of five heats 
to wagons. She took the first and second ; he got the third j 
the fourth was dead ; and she won the fifth. Time, 2.47, 
2.50, 2.34, 2.36, 2.50. 

The race at Philadelphia resulted in a victory for Plora. 
She won easily in 2.33, 2.33^, 2.33f . But at Eochester, on 
the 1st of November, Green-Mountain Maid succeeded in 
reversing the verdict. They trotted five heats ; and the big 
chestnut mare got the first, third, and fifth. The time was 
2.40, 2.35, 2.35, 2.36, 2.38. The two mares then went to 
Cincinnati, and I did not accompany Plora. At that place, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 269 

on the 20th of November, she beat Green-Mountain Maid 
and Rhode Island, and afterwards beat the latter to wagons. 
She and Rhode Island then went on down the Ohio River to 
Louisville, where she beat him again. There the little mare 
embarked on one of the fine steamers which ran on the 
Ohio below the falls and down the Mississippi to New 
Orleans, where she and Green-Mountain Maid met early 
in January, and had two races, one in harness, the other to 
wagons. Neither of these races was very fast. Although 
the mare finished in January at New Orleans, her races there 
must be reckoned as part of her performances in 1863. In 
that year she trotted twenty-one races, and, out of the whole 
number, won seventeen. She also beat all the horses that 
beat her, and beat them more times than they defeated her. 

On the return of the mare to New York, she was purchased 
by D. L. Pettee, Esq., who was then, and continues to be, 
one of the ablest and most highly respected of those distin- 
guished gentlemen in the city and vicinity of New York 
who have had a worthy pride in the possession of fast 
horses. He at that time also owned Lady Brooks ; and these 
mares he drove at Newport during the season of 1864, at 
that celebrated seaside resort. When he returned home, he 
suffered me to match Flora against the famous brown 
gelding Mac, for §1,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness. 
This Mac was very famous for his many contests with 
Tacony. They were very close together when in condition ; 
but Mac had a little the best of the roan, in my judgment, 
until he was injured by over-driving, and got " the thumps." 
Mac was about fifteen two, and came originally from 
Maine. He was of the Maine-Messenger blood. John 
McArdle owned him. He had twice defeated Lady Suffolk, 
and, when matched with Flora, was thought as good as any 
thing out. But the mare beat him with great ease in three 
heats. Time, 2.31|, 2.32, 2.33. That race was on the 5th 
of October. 

On the 18th of the same month, Flora trotted a match for 



270 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

$2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Jack 
Waters. This Jack Waters was a bay gelding by Old 
Abdallah. He was about fifteen two, — a long-tailed horse. 
He belonged to Mr. Ben Prince, and afterwards went to 
California. Jack was very fast, but he was a delicate-con- 
stitutioned horse ; whereas Flora was steel and whalebone, 
and nothing could make her give out. They trotted on the 
Centre ville Course, and she beat him in three heats with ease. 
Time, 2,33. 2,39. 2,37. 

Flora Temple now changed hands again. Mr. James 
Irving bough ther, and intended to use her solely for trotting- 
races. But, like her former owner, he found the demands of 
business incompatible with his projected operations, and sold 
her to Jas. McMann. Her first appearance after she became 
the property of Mr. McMann was at the Union Course, on 
the 7th of Ma} T , 1855, in a match for $2,000, mile heats, 
three in five, against the famous mare Sontag. It was to 
wagons and drivers of 3001bs. Sontag was a gray mare by 
Vermont Hambletonian, who was also called Harris's Ham- 
bletonian. He was a grandson of Messenger, and stood in 
the same relation to him that Abdallah did, but not by the 
same line. The latter came through Mambrino; Harris's 
Hambletonian through the Hambletonian, of whom I have 
heard that he was the horse bred by Gen. Coles, of this 
Island, and run by him as Hambletonian. Of course all 
these horses preceded the Hambletonian of our day, for 
whom the name seems to have been adopted from the other 
branch of the Messenger family. None of them are related, 
except through distant collaterals, to the English horse 
Hambletonian, who beat Diamond in one of the greatest 
mutches that ever was run in England, over the Beacon 
Course. But in one point they all resemble him, — they 
were large, strong, bony horses, and so was he ; so much so, 
indeed, that the jockey who rode little Diamond exclaimed, 
as I have heard, " This looks like a race between a mare 
and her sucking colt." 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 271 

Vermont Hambletonian was the sire of some capital 
trotters besides Sontag. Green-Mountain Maid, Gray Ver- 
mont, True John, and other noted horses, proceeded from 
him. Sontag was about fifteen three, — a long-tailed mare. 
When she first came to New York, at five years old or 
thereabouts (it is not always very easy to tell their ages 
precisely some time afterwards), she was a pacer. 

In this race against Flora, William Whelan drove the 
big gray mare, and Warren Peabody drove Flora. Sontag 
won it in three heats. Time, 2.31, 2.33, 2.35. Flora was 
next matched to trot twenty miles within an hour, to a 
wagon, for $5,000. The only horse that had ever trotted 
twenty miles in an hour at all was Trustee, and his perfor- 
mance was in harness ; therefore I do not think this was a 
good match for the little mare. She lost it. At the end of 
the eighth mile, she threw a shoe and cut herself; and, at the 
end of the twelfth mile, she was drawn. The truth is, that, 
in dogging along mile after mile for twenty times round the 
course, many horses not half as good as Flora Temple could 
do what she could not. I do not mean to say that she might 
not, under some conditions, have trotted twenty miles in an 
hour ; but that kind of going on, in a tread-mill sort of way, 
was not her strong point. 

That same year, Lady Fulton, a mare much inferior to 
Flora, trotted twenty miles in an hour ; and the lunatic sort 
of hcrse Captain McGowan has since done it. 

Flora took a trip to Boston after her race against time, 
and there went a match for $3,000, over the Cambridge 
Couise, with the black gelding Know-Nothing, who was 
afterwards more famous as Lancet, and who is now turned 
out in John I. Snediker's pasture, just beyond the trees. 
Know-Nothing is said to have been a son of Vermont Black 
Hawk. Lie did not look much like that stock then, and he 
looks less like them now. He was and is a very long horse, 
fifteen three in height, with a long tail. There is a wiry, 
blood-like look about him, not without an indication of tern- 



272 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

per. His rump is steep, his hips are wide and ragged, and 
he was always a very rapid goer. The race against Flora 
was mile heats in harness. She beat him in two heats, over 
a heavy track, in 2.37, 2.43. That was on the 26th of June. 
When Flora came home, another match was made between 
her and Sontag, to be trotted on the 6th of July, over the 
Union Course. It was two-mile heats to wagons, for 
$2,000. This was the first time of my driving Flora that 
year. She won easily in two heats, — 5.07, 5.27. Flora's 
next race was against Lady Franklin, who was then in my 
hands. 

She was a roan mare from Maine, about fourteen three, 
with a long tail. Her pedigree was not known. A man 
named Hayes brought her here, and offered to sell her to 
Sim Hoagland for $1,200. Sim took her to the course, 
drove her a mile in 2m. 36s., and repeated her at precisely 
the same rate. He would of course have bought her ; but it 
happened that Capt. Yeaton, who had an interest in her, 
had come on the course during the trial with some others, 
jmd had caught her time in the repeating-mile. When Sim 
learned this, he did not want her. Her match against Flora 
was two-mile heats to wagons, for $2,000. They trotted 
over the Centreville, Sept. 11. Flora won it in two heats, 
— 5.12^, 5.11^. After her victory over Lady Franklin 
on the 11th of September, Flora trotted mile heats in 
harness, three in five, on the 17th, against Chicago Jack 
and Mac, and won it easily in three heats. Time, 2.29^., 
2.31|, 2.34. 

In the next race in which she was engaged, I had Flora 
on my side again. It was two-mile heats to wagons, extra- 
weight, — wagons and drivers 2751bs. There were four en- 
gaged, — Flora herself, Frank Forrester, Chicago Jack, and 
Miller's Damsel. The bay gelding Frank Forrester, who was 
since called Ike Cook, was got by Abdallah (the old horse), 
while he stood in Kentucky. Chicago Jack was a bay 
gelding, fifteen hands, two inches scant. He belonged 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 273 

to Gen. Dunham, and was a stylish, up-headed horse. 
Miller's Damsel was a chestnut mare, with three white 
legs and a hlaze in the face. She belonged to Conkling 
Carl. Her sire was Emmons's Jackson, a son of old 
Andrew Jackson. Of these four, Flora and Frank Forrester 
were the only ones that appeared on the 20th of September. 
I had no trouble in winning it with Flora in 5.15|, 5.17£. 
On the 10th of October, Frank Forrester paid forfeit to 
Flora in a match for $2,000, over the Union Course. On 
the 17th, she went a match against Hero the pacer, for 
$2,000, over the Centreville, two-mile heats, she in harness, 
the pacer to wagon. The mare won this in three heats. 
Hero got the first, and she the second and third. Time, 
4.59, 4.57, 5.2l£. This ended Flora's exploits in 1855. 



18 



xxxm. 

The Time-Test. — Saddle-Horses. — Eiders of Trotters. — Mace, Murphy, and 
Doble. — Flora and Lancet. — Trusting to Trials. — Flora and Tacony. — 
Flora distances him in 2m. 24|s. — The True Explanation of that Heat. — 
Caution to Young Drivers. 

IN the year 1856, Flora lay by without a match until 
towards the last of June. There were not many horses 
likely to dispute the palm of superiority with her ; for, 
although she had not then made the best time on record, she 
had defeated so many good ones, and had won races from those 
whose time excelled hers with such ease, that in every thing 
but the time-test she was already at the head of the trotting- 
turf. Time, no doubt, is a very good test, as far as it goes ; 
but it is not the only test. There commonly has to be a con- 
junction of favorable circumstances in order to enable a horse 
or horses to make extraordinary time. Therefore, when it is 
found that one who has not made such time can beat those 
who have, race after race, all of them being apparently in 
good condition, a reasonable presumption is raised that the 
trotter in question will, at no distant day, beat the time 
at the head of the record, as well as the horses who made it. 
At this period, — the summer of 1856, — I had for some time 
entertained the conviction that Flora Temple would surpass 
all that Lady Suffolk and Tacony had done under saddle 
by making faster time in harness. Every thing indicated 
such a result ; but I was not then prepared to say that we 
should see it done that year. Her first match in 1856 was 
with Chicago Jack, the horse mentioned in the last chapter 
as belonging to Gen. Dunham, a very worthy and enter- 

274 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 275 

prising man, known East and West. In the spring, Jack 
had met and defeated Know-Nothing, who was now called 
Lancet, in a race at Boston, under saddle. There were four 
heats in it, and two of them were trotted in 2.27J. 

The match between Flora Temple and Jack was mile 
heats, three in five, for $1,000 ; he under saddle, and she in 
harness. When a horse is clever under the saddle, it is a 
better and faster way of going than in harness ; yet there 
are many horses as fast in harness as they are under the 
saddle, and some a good deal faster. There are, however, 
but few that would not have been faster under saddle than 
in harness, provided they had had a good share of saddle- 
work during that period of breaking and formation which 
is necessarily extended in the trotting-horse. We very 
often, now-a-days, see horses trot fast in harness and to 
wagon, that never have a saddle on their backs, and that are 
never ridden, except at walking-exercise or to the black- 
smith-shop. The presumption is, that these horses would 
have been faster under saddle than they are in harness, if 
they had been accustomed to trot under the saddle. At the 
same time, there are horses whose make and character is 
such that saddle-work does not suit them. They have, com- 
monly, weak backs and bad shoulders ; and the weight on 
their backs tires them behind, and runs them into the 
ground forward. 

There may, however, be a perfectly-shaped horse so far as 
the eye can perceive, and yet he will not trot as well under 
the saddle as in harness. A great want of steadiness is 
sometimes found in horses under the saddle, whose speed in 
that way of going is very great ; and the reason is, I 
believe, that the horse is not ridden sufficiently to become 
thoroughly at home in that way of going. Of late years 
the great, almost the only, object of desire, in regard to a 
trotter, has been that he should be fast in harness. The 
saddle has been neglected, but it is now coming into its use 
again. Dan Mace, John Murphy, and Budd Doble have 



276 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

given specimens of saddle-horsemanship which remind the 
old frequenters of the trotting-turf of the days when my 
uncle, George "Woodruff, used to ride against Peter Whelan, 
or of those races in which I used to ride against William 
Whelan and others. Flora herself never was a saddle- 
mare ; and yet I think no man can look over her, and point 
out any defect of conformation as the reason why. It must 
have been, in her case, a want of education under the saddle, 
and that deficiency was greatly to be regretted. 

The race between her and Chicago Jack came off over 
the Centreville Course on the 24th of June. The mare 
was the favorite, and won easily in three straight heats 
of exactly 2m. 30s. each. The victory over Chicago Jack 
was not so much considered by the thoughtful as the fact 
that Flora trotted the second quarter of the last heat at 
the rate of 2m. 20s., and seemed to be going within herself. 

Her next match was against Lancet, for $1,000 a side, — 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, ruade for the second of 
July. Flora had beaten the gelding with great ease, at Bos- 
ton, the year before j but since then his friends had become 
exceedingly confident by reason of the time he had shown 
in a private trial. Now, such trials are useful enough as 
indicating what the horse may be expected to do under 
certain circumstances ; and a first-rate trial affords very 
strong presumption that a trotter is in the course of im- 
provement. But, in making matches, the public doings of 
the horse, unless he has been out of condition, or has been 
pulled, afford a far safer guide for his owner and trainer 
than trials do. To follow one particular trial is a will-o'-the- 
wisp sort of business, and people are thereby often led deep 
into boggy ground. The horse gets beat every heat in time 
that is not any thing like as good as the trial was ; and then 
there is much marvel and lamentation, to say nothing of 
something stronger, over a result which the whole history 
of the turf, running as well as trotting, might have led us 
to expect. In this match, the public turned a deaf ear to 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 277 

all that -was whispered about the wonderful trial, and wisely 
stuck to Flora, who had on so many notable occasions stuck 
to them. She was backed at four to one ; and, when the time 
for starting came, Lancet paid forfeit. They then trotted 
for the gate-money ; and the mare won it in 3 heats, 2m. 
30i s., 2m. 30s., 2m. 29s. 

After Lancet's race, Tacony came forward again to try 
conclusions with Flora. The race was mile heats, on the 
Union Course, July 22d, the roan under saddle and the 
little mare in harness. Tacony won the first heat in 2m. 
31 f s. ; but Flora took the second and third in 2m. 28s., 2m. 
29|s. Another match was now made between the mare and 
Lancet, for $1,000 a side, mile heats, three in five, he under 
saddle, and the mare in harness. This match was made for 
the Fashion Course, then new, and constructed for running- 
horses. The deep ground was a great disadvantage to Flora 
with the wheels behind her; and the gelding won it in three 
heats of 2m. 29s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 30s. 

In old times, there used to be a way of fighting among 
boys, in which some youth, of uncommon handiness with the 
fists and hardiness of courage and endurance, would contend 
with two. They were never to be at him both at one time ; 
but, as soon as one was knocked down or thrown, the other 
could rush in, and carry on the battle. This was called 
" one down and the other come on ; " and the doings between 
Lancet, Tacony, and Flora Temple greatly resembled it. 
After the trial at the Fashion Course, it was Tacony's turn 
again. 'A match was made between him and Flora, in 
which she was to pull a wagon, and he was to go under sad- 
dle. This was very great odds for the mare to give, and 
the match was never trotted. A new one was made for 
$500 a side, to trot mile heats, three in five, on the Union 
Course, Sept. 2d, Tacony under saddle and the mare in har- 
ness. 

The mare was a strong favorite in this race, odds of a 
hundred to thirty being laid upon her at the start. She 



278 THE TR0TT1NG-H0RSE OF AMERICA. 

fully justified the confidence of her backers ; and I might 
dismiss the subject by saying that she distanced Tacony the 
first heat. But this was a very remarkable race, inasmuch 
as Flora surpassed in it any time that had been made before, 
either under saddle or otherwise. It was also the last race 
in which I drove her ; and it was made a matter of accusa- 
tion against me that I had distanced Tacony, and purposely 
exposed the fast time of which Flora Temple was capable. 
Impartial and intelligent people, as well as those who were 
interested, and so perhaps not quite impartial, believed this. 
It was so set down in the contemporaneous accounts of the 
press ; and yet it was not true. I might have contradicted 
it through the " Spirit of the Times " at that period, but I 
did not do so ; and many believe to this day that I purposely 
drove the mare to the full extent of her capacity on that 
occasion. 

Now, nothing is further from the truth. I have never in 
my life lost a heat purposely that I could have won without 
what I deemed might be too great an effort for safety in the 
race ; and I have never, on the other hand, exposed all that 
any horse was capable of, unless it was necessary. In the 
race between Flora and Tacony, the condition of the mare 
was very fine, and her speed very great. She darted away, 
and was soon in the lead some three or four lengths. I 
pulled her hard round the turn up the hill, and she was 
thirty-seven seconds in going to the quarter. On the second 
quarter, along the backstretch, she was under a strong pull 
all the way, and did it in 36s., the half mile being "trotted 
in lm. 13s. All this time the mare was well within herself, 
fully collected, and pulling very hard. She had trotted a 
second quarter in a third heat in June, when she was green, 
it being her first race that year, in thirty-five seconds. She 
was now well seasoned, in splendid speed and wind, and full 
of ardor and determination. She went into the third quar- 
ter, where there is a little descent, with such speed and reso- 
lution that I deemed it unsafe to pull her any harder than 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 279 

I was doing. I could have pulled her back, as a matter of 
course, unless the bit or the reins had given way ; but it 
was my judgment then, and is now, that, if I had done so, 
it would have been at great risk of tangling her all up, and 
perhaps causing her to hit herself. The mare was so full 
of resolution, and pulling so hard, that the only safe plan 
was to let her go, in a fair degree. I did so ; and the conse- 
quence was, that she trotted the heat in 2m. 24^s., and Tac- 
ony was outside the distance-flag by a long way. 

I have not entered into this explanation, years after the 
matter occurred, and when it has been by the public almost 
if not entirely forgotten, with a view to defend myself, but 
for another purpose, or rather two purposes. One of them is, 
to show that Flora Temple could then, upon that second day 
of September, 1856, have trotted a mile as fast as she ever 
afterwards trotted one on that course, which was 2m. 21s. 
I am quite confident that I could have driven her that day 
in that time. If I had made up my mind to drive her so 
as to expose all she knew, it is hardly credible that I should 
have held her back to the rate of 2m. 28s. to the mile for 
the first quarter, and 2m. 2Gs. to the mile for the first half. 
The truth is, that the mare was always under a good, strong 
pull from first to last ; and there never was a rood, even in 
the last half-mile in lm. 11 £s., when she was at her best. 
She was, as a matter of course, as near her best as she could 
get with the strain I had upon her. But her mouth was 
wide-open all the way ; and, if her ears were at any time laid 
flat back, it was because she was pulling with all her power, 
and not because she was trotting with all the speed of which 
she was capable. 

As I have before intimated, I fully believe that I could 
have driven her that day in 2m. 21s. ; and I think it probable 
that she might even have got home in 2m. 20s. The other 
purpose of this explanation was, a caution to young drivers 
against pulling trotters out of their stride when they are 
trotting very fast, and going up to the bit with uncommon 



280 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

force and resolution. A great deal of mischief may result 
from such a course. It hurts the temper ; it destroys the 
steadiness ; it tends to break up a good, lasting gait. There 
are other evils to be apprehended from such a course. I 
could name several trotters, of very great speed and power, 
who were prevented from reaching the excellence they might 
otherwise have attained, by that means. The horse is a very 
intelligent animal. His disposition is to do about his best 
when in company ; and if he finds, that, whenever he is about 
to do his best, he is suddenly hauled and yanked so as to 
break up his stride and gait, he is not likely to forget that 
fact. 



XXXIV. 

Flora and Lancet. — The Morgan Horses. — Ethan Allen. — His Breeding. 
— His Produce. — Flora and Ethan Allen. — Flora's Winter-Quarters. — 
Flora and Rose of Washington. — Want of Condition sure to beat any- 
thing. — Value of a race in Public to produce Condition. 

IT is my belief, that, when Flora Temple distanced Tacony 
in 2m. 24|s., she had about reached her greatest excel- 
lence. It is true that she trotted faster afterwards upon 
the same course ; and that race in which she beat Geo. M. 
Patchen, in three heats, was one of the very best she ever 
made. But, as I observed in the preceding chapter, she 
could have gone in 2m. 20s., or thereabouts, in the race with 
Tacony. She was then eleven years old, thoroughly 
matured, with a constitution that nothing could surpass, 
and none of her vigor at all impaired. She was younger at 
that time in strength and vigor than many colts are at three 
and four years old. She did not long remain idle ; for a 
match was made between her and Lancet, for a thousand 
dollars a side, he to go under saddle and she in harness. 
The place was the Centreville Course ; the day, the 30th of 
September. 

It was made rain or shine ; and the backers of the gelding 
found to their huge delight, when they got up in the morn- 
ing, that it blew great guns and rained hard. This was 
very disadvantageous for Flora. The south side of Long 
Island is a very wet place in wet weather. The sea-mist 
comes up along with the gale and the rain, and sets every 
thing so much a-drip that it seems as if the island was afloat, 
and about to shove off into the bay. It was as bad a day 

281 



282 THE TROTTIJYG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

for a race as ever was seen ; and, when the little mare came 
on the course in her sulky, the wind seemed fit to catch her 
up, and bear her away over the tree-tops. The black gelding 
went sloshing along through the mud as if he liked it. The 
mare got off badly in the first heat, and lost about twenty 
lengths by a break. She was commonly a very good mare for 
mud; but, on this occasion, the wind and rain combined 
seemed to be too much for her. Lancet went to the half- 
mile in lm. lis., Flora trotted very fast after she got 
settled, but could not overtake Lancet, who won it 
easily in 2m. 28s. Odds of two to one was then laid 
upon Lancet, and there were many takers. The second 
heat was very close, but the gelding won by a head in 
2m. 28s. Still Lancet had more in him, and, in the third 
heat, let out the links in such a manner that he trotted it 
in 2m. 25 |s. 

Considering the day and the state of the course, this was 
a performance of very great merit. It put Lancet, as a 
saddle-horse, up to Tacony and Lady Suffolk in regard to 
time ; and ahead of them, in the consideration that the 
course was muddy and the wind strong. At this time, 
many thought than Lancet was the " coming horse," and 
believed that he would succeed in deposing Flora, and set- 
ting the trotting-crown upon his own brow. But I never 
thought so. 

Another match was made between them, both to go in 
harness ; and, as the proprietor of the Fashion Course added 
$1,500 to the stakes, it was agreed to trot on that course. 
The Lancet party believed that he would get through the 
new, deep ground better than Flora ; but her friends relied 
upon her game and bottom to pull through. The mare was 
the favorite in the betting, and won the race very easily in 
three heats, the fastest of which was 2m. 31s. This was on 
the 8th of October. 

Their next engagement was at Boston, where the little 
mare was always a great favorite. Nowhere in this country 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 283 

is there a better class of gentlemen taking interest in the 
contests of the trotting-turf than in the neighborhood of 
Boston. The Eastern States have also been a fine nursery 
for trotting-horses. The fine action of the Morgan breed, 
and their good tempers and sound constitutions, helped a 
great deal ; but New England was still more largely indebted 
to the two sons of Messenger, — Hamiltonian and the Bush 
Messenger : I mean the one that went to Maine. There 
were, as I have been informed, several Bush Messengers. 
One of them was owned by Philo C. Bush, the race-horse man ; 
but that was not the one that furnished Maine with good 
trotting-blood. 

The race between Flora Temple and Lancet at Boston 
was witnessed by about thirty thousand people, it being at 
the Agricultural Fair. She won it in three heats, and the 
best of them was 2m. 36^s. It was to be regretted th<*t 
Lancet was unable to make Flora do better on this occasion, 
as there was such a vast attendance. Just before that, the 
famous little horse Ethan Allen had added largely to his 
fame by beating Hiram Drew ; and now a match was talked 
of between him and Flora Temple. He stood very high 
in the New-England States, because he was the chief rep- 
resentative of the Morgan line, and also the fastest stallion 
that had then been trained. Ethan Allen is a small but 
beautifully-built horse. He is a very rapid goer, and his 
action and style are as near perfection as can be conceived ; 
but he always had a trifling objection to weight, and to a 
long distance. He was one of the early-maturing trotters ; 
and his first race was with Smith Burr's Bose of Washing- 
ton, at four years old. He beat the filly ; but I have heard 
Mr. Burr declare that he afterwards found out that Ethan 
was a year older than she was. He was bred in the north 
part of this State by Joel Holcomb, who owned him, in con- 
junction with Mr. Boe, for some years. Mr. Boe has alwavs 
said that he was got by Hill's Black Hawk ; but many have 
stoutly maintained that his sire was a colt called Flying 



284 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

Morgan. I have seen it stated in Herbert's book on the 
horse, that Ethan Allen was got by Morgan Black Hawk. 
Now, there never was any stallion called Morgan Black 
Hawk ; but there was Hill's Black Hawk and Flying Mor- 
gan, who were different stallions on the same farm. Ethan's 
dam was a gray mare of the Messenger strain. He has 
been a very good, enduring little horse, and especially great 
for his knack at going with a running-mate. 

The last appearance of Flora in public — that is, in a race ; 
for she appeared since on the grand day at Peter Dubois' 
track, when all the famous trotters in these parts went up 
to be reviewed by Gen. Grant — was going against Ethan 
Allen and his mate Socks. Ethan Allen has been more 
successful at the stud than many people are willing to con- 
cede. His son Honest Allen is a fast trotter. The mare 
Young Pocahontas is a wonder. She is as beautiful as 
Ethan Allen was himself in his prime ; and it is my opinion 
that the famous old pacing-mare has put her own staying 
stuff into the young one. I saw Young Pocahontas trot at 
Boston on the day that Mr. Bonner bought her, and liked 
her way of going very much. Then there is an uncommon 
good mare got by Ethan Allen, called Fanny Allen ; and 
others I might mention. 

But, to return to the match between Flora Temple and 
Ethan Allen : it was first set down to come off on the 28th 
of October, but the weather just before that was so bad that 
they put the race off until the 5th of November. The day 
was cold, and the wind gusty and raw ; but nevertheless some 
thousands of people, including many ladies, attended to 
witness the contest between the handsome bay stallion and 
the beautiful bay mare. They were a well-matched and 
a very comely pair. Nothing could exceed the symmetry of 
form displayed by Ethan Allen some ten years ago. Flora 
Temple was a little more angular, but her points were amaz- 
ingly strong and good. She was very powerful behind, with 
a splendid shoulder and long carcass. I pay no attention to 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 285 

the views of those who say that a trotter should be straight 
in the shoulder and short in the carcass. The best trotters 
that I have ever known were not " punched-up " horses, 
but the reverse. In length, the mare had the advantage of 
Ethan Allen : she was, in fact, a very long mare for her 
inches, and a large one too. She was the favorite in this 
race at long odds, and won it easily in 2m. 32^s., 2m. 36|s., 
pulled all the way. That finished her trotting for the year 
1856. 

She wintered at Holmdell, in the State of New Jersey, 
where Mr. Francis Morris breeds his race-horses. His 
trainer, Mr. Chas. Lloyd, used to have the mare every winter 
for some years ; and capital care he bestowed upon her. She 
would come out all blooming in the spring, and be ready to 
trot a good stout race after a few brushes. It makes a 
great difference to the trainer whether a trotter has been 
wintered well, or merely suffered to get fat and lazy during 
the resting-months. But that time Flora was wintered, and 
summered too, in Jersey ; for she remained at Holmdell until 
July, and, when matched, was brought over at a few days' 
notice to trot. Her opponent was Eose of Washington, 
the one bred by Smith Burr away down on the Island 
here, and beaten in her first race by Ethan Allen, at 
four years old. She was got by old Washington, and was 
now a good mare. She was not, however, good enough for 
Flora on equal terms ; and so, when we made the match, we 
stipulated that the latter should pull a wagon. I knew 
that Rose was a good mare. I had beat Brown Dick a 
heat with her to wagon in 2m. 31|s. in May. Then, in 
June, she beat Tacony under saddle, in 2.30, 2.31, and had 
in the mean time, between those races, defeated O'Blenis, 
two-mile heats. 

But, for all that, I would not have advised the matching 
of her against Flora, if I had not believed that condition 
could not but be in Rose's favor. She had trotted all the 
spring, had done plenty of work, and had performed well in 



286 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

public. She was seasoned, and fit for the exertion of all her 
powers. Flora was not fit to exert hers. In the nature of 
things she could not he. But still she was the favorite in 
the betting, and a capital chance was afforded to win money. 
It was a hundred to seventy-five on her ; but she acted so in 
scoring, that Eose was backed at nearly even before we got 
the word. We got away together in the first heat ; and 
Flora tried to head me, and take the pole. I was glad to 
see her rushing off as hard as she could go ; for, in her con- 
dition, that was just the way for her to lose it. She got 
half a length ahead of Eose on the turn, and then went all 
>:o pieces. That burst had settled her. At the quarter, I 
led her a length, and, at the half-mile pole, was five or six 
in front. Eose won it easily in 2m. 30fs. 

The second heat was all one way : Eose won it easily in 
2.39. Tallman then got in to drive Flora, at the importunity 
of those who had backed her at the long odds. But it made 
no difference who drove her : the evil was not in the driving, 
but in the want of condition in the mare. She trotted a 
quarter with Eose in the third heat pretty well, and then 
broke up, and disappeared from my view. I beat her about 
fifty yards in 2m. 37|s. It is almost unnecessary to say that 
it was not Flora Temple who was beaten that day by Eose 
of Washington. Flora, coming from Lloyd's hands after 
one of her usual winterings, could commonly trot with a 
short preparation — but she wanted some preparation. 
And there remained the fact that she had been at Holmdell 
not merely in the winter-season, but for above seven months. 
She was in no condition, and *I knew it. With all her 
excellence, she was subject to the same laws of nature as 
other horses; and I have never had, or read, or heard of one 
that want of condition would not beat, if the opponent 
could only force the pace, and keep it strong. Charges were 
made by some, that Flora's owner had had her defeated on 
purpose ; but they were very unjust. His only fault was 
overweening confidence in his own mare, and an underesti- 



THE TROTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 287 

mate of Eose. A match for a thousand dollars, Flora in 
harness and Eose under saddle, was still pending between 
the mares. The former race came off on the 8th of July ; 
the second was on the 20th. Meantime, Flora had been 
doing good work, and had heat Belle of Portland two-mile 
heats. That race was, without doubt, of much service to 
her. 

I think, that, when a trainer has a horse of fine pluck and 
good constitution, a race or two in public does as much or 
more than weeks of preparation towards the production of 
good condition. The bustle and the shouting, and the being 
brought into the midst of crowds of people, stirs the blood, 
and acts upon the nervous system ; besides which, the race 
demands some sort of exertion that a trainer would not be apt 
to employ in the regular work. In regard to training, I ven- 
true to lay this down as a rule, that a good stout horse is never 
got to his best until he has been ridden or driven so as to be 
tired a few times. And here is the distinction between 
stout, aged horses and young colts. The latter should never 
be driven to the extent of getting tired : the former will 
never be got into their best condition until they have been 
tired often. But still the treatment, and the extent to which 
the work must be carried, will vary with each particular 
horse ; and in this it is that the trainer must exercise judg- 
ment. If all horses were alike in character, health, consti- 
tution, and ability, precise rules could be laid down for 
training ; for what had produced a gocd effect in one case 
would do so in all, if applied. But horses differ ; no two are 
exactly alike : and therefore it is impossible to give any 
thing further than general rules, the right application of 
which to particular cases must be made by each man for 
himself. In the second race between Flora Temple and 
Eose of Washington, the former had come to her condition 
in some measure. She distanced Rose the first heat, in 
2m. 31s. 



XXXV. 

Introduction of Hippodroming. — Flora, Lancet, Miller's Damsel, and Red- 
bird. — Flora and Brown Dick. — Flora purchased by Mr. McDonald.— 
Hippodroming again. — Flora and Prince. — Flora and Ike Cook. — Flora 
and Reindeer. — The coming Horses, Princess and George M. Patchen. 

AFTER the races between Mora Temple and Rose of 
Washington, an arrangement was entered into by 
means of which the former and Lancet travelled together, 
o trot for purses and divide the profits. It was a new sort 
01 thing, and was expressively called " Hippodroming M by 
Mr. Wilkes. In spite of all that was -said against the sys- 
tem, it has come more and more into fashion ; and now there 
are lots of horses that go about the country every season, 
and exhibit under just such an arrangement. In the case 
of Flora, there was more excuse for it than there has been in 
some others. She could not at that time get a match on 
even terms, and was excluded from all the purses. Flora 
and Lancet began at Elmira on the 2d of September. I 
fully believe, that, in all her hippodroming (and she was hip- 
podromed with a good deal), her owner and driver never 
threw away a heat with her. It is my opinion that there is 
a great deal more satisfaction in a real race than in one of 
these shows, in which no money is actually at stake between 
the horses. But the people have sanctioned the system ; and 
these exhibitions draw immense crowds all over the country, 
from Maine to Missouri. The evil is, that horses who might 
otherwise be engaged in excellent races for money, part 
stakes and part purses, are practically withdrawn from 
these real competitions, and kept for the purpose of such 
exhibitions at fairs. 

288 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 289 

At Ehnira, the sum of $900 was given, mile heats, to go 
as they pleased. The first was to have $500, the second 
$300, and the third $100. Flora Temple, Lancet, Miller's 
Damsel, and Redbird were entered ; and it seemed pretty- 
clear that the first and second prizes would be secured by 
the partnership, while there would be a struggle between 
Miller's Damsel and Redbird for the third money. Flora, 
Miller's Damsel, and Redbird went in harness, Lancet under 
saddle. Flora won in two heats, Lancet second, and Miller's 
Damsel third. Time, 2.28, 2.27. Three days afterwards, 
Sept. 5, they trotted again for $3,500 in the aggregate. 
It was mile heats, three in five, as they pleased ; the first to 
have $2,000, the second $1,000, and the third $500. They 
went as before, and the result was the same. Flora won in 
three heats, — 2.2GA, 2.27, 2.25. Lancet was second in all 
of them, and Redbird third. 

In these two daj^s at Elmira, Flora and Lancet had earned 
$3,800, to be divided between them ; and this was a good 
deal more than they could have gained in any other way. 
They had also done quite as much as the spectators had a 
right to expect ; and, taken altogether, that was the best 
performance that had then been made. Some, indeed, be- 
lieved that the time was inaccurate, or the track short ; but 
these notions were never confirmed. Flora then went to 
Albany to trot a match for $2,000 with the gelding Brown 
Dick, mile heats, three in five. Brown Dick was a good 
horse, but not quite first-rate. He was a brown gelding, by 
a son of American Star, and had been owned by a business- 
man at Williamsburg, who used him in his heavy wagon. 
He all at once showed such speed that he was sent to Dan 
Pfifer, who brought him out, and made a fast and stout trot- 
ter of him. The race between Flora and him was trotted 
on Sept. 12 ; and the mare won it in three heats, the best 
of which was 2m. 30s. : but then the track was slow, and 
the turns bad. 

Flora Temple and Lancet now went together again. They 

19 



290 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

appeared at Springfield, Massachusetts, Oct. 3, and divided 
the purse of $1,000 ; Flora being first in all three heats, 
and Lancet was under saddle. The fastest time was 2m. 
32s. They then passed on to Hartford, Conn., where the 
prize was $1,000, mile heats, three in five, as they pleased. 
Lancet again went under saddle, and this time earned the 
honors of the day as well as his share of the money. In 
the first heat, the mare grabbed a shoe off, and Lancet came 
home first in 2m. 34s. Flora won the second in 2m. 29s. ; but 
the probability is, that Lancet was pulled, as he won the 
third heat in 2m. 25s., and the fourth in 2m. 28s. The 
third heat of 2m. 25s. was the best that had then been 
made under saddle ; and some thought it was better than Flo- 
ra's 2m. 25s. at Elmira, because the Connecticut track was a 
half-mile, with short turns. But my opinion was different ; 
for he was under saddle, in which way of going a horse can 
hug the pole, and make much shorter turns than is possible 
to one pulling, a vehicle and driver behind. If Flora had 
trotted in 2m. 25s. at Hartford, it might have been reason- 
ably held to be better than her heat at Elmira ; but she did 
not do so. 

It was also believed by many that Lancet could beat hei 
any time when he was quite himself, and under saddle. 
But in this opinion I never concurred, because, after the race 
in which I distanced Tacony with her in 2m. 24|s., I was 
satisfied, that, when she was quite herself, she could trot 
in harness in 2m. 20s. on a good track. The season of 1857 
was now at an end, and the mare went into winter-quarters. 
The system of dividing purses had been inaugurated, and it 
has since increased to an enormous extent. At first, when 
Flora travelled with Lancet and he went under saddle, and 
afterwards, when she, Princess, and other horses, went upon 
these sort of expeditions, there was some semblance of a 
race ; but the proceedings between Dexter and Patchen's 
son from California have been of a farcical character. The 
stallion was unable to keep decent company with Dexter 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 291 

when the latter went any thing like his "best rate ; and, to 
satisfy the lookers-on, Doble was compelled to bid good-by 
to Eoff and the stallion in order to show a fast mile. For 
my part, I never liked the system, and have never had any 
thing to do with it ; but if the people who pay for it, know- 
ing what it is, are satisfied, I have neither the right nor the 
inclination to interfere. 

In 1858, Flora did not trot on Long Island at all ; and it 
is a question whether she trotted at more than one place 
that year where there was not some kind of dividing ar- 
rangement made with the horse that appeared with her. 
The first place at which she came out was the Chestnut-hill 
Park, Philadelphia. The purse was $1,000, mile heats, 
three in five, in harness ; the date, June 16 ; and the other 
horse was Lancet. She won in 2.29, 2.31, 2.35. Before 
she trotted again, she had been purchased by Mr. William 
McDonald, a wealthy gentleman of Baltimore, for $8,000. 
The price of horses was not as great then as it has since 
become, and Flora Temple was worth all the money he paid 
for her. The change of ownership made no change in the 
system of management, as she remained in charge of her 
former owner, Mr. McMann. On the 22d of June, the Ox- 
ford-park Course, Philadelphia, gave a purse of $1,200, for 
which Flora and Lancet appeared. She won in three heats, 
— 2.31,2.271 2.29f. The two then went to the Central 
Course, Baltimore, and two races there (if they can be called 
races) resulted in just the same way. The mare was driven 
to win every heat ; and this she did with great ease, as Lan- 
cet was no competitor for her in harness. After the second 
race at Baltimore, which was on the 8th of July, Flora lay 
by until October. 

Many people were still under the delusion that Lancet 
could beat Flora, as the wonderful private time of the geld- 
ing continued to be talked about. I offered to match her 
against him foi $5,000, .provided I could get the marej but 



292 THE TROTTING-HORSE OX AMERICA. 

Mr. McMann declined to let me have her ; and I dare say 
he knew, that, if I had got her, the Lancet party would not 
have made the match. She went to the West, and trotted 
with the chestnut gelding Prince, at Detroit, on the 2d of 
October. He was under Mr. McMann's control, as much 
as Flora was ; and, if he had not been, he would have been 
no match for her. He was, indeed, a splendid horse for 
bottom, when I drove him against Hero the pacer, and beat 
him in two ten-mile races, as I have previously related ; but 
he had not speed enough for Flora at mile heats. 

From Detroit, Flora passed on to Chicago, to trot for a 
purse of $800, added to a stake of $500 each, half forfeit. 
The others engaged were Frank Forrester (now called Ike 
Cook), and the gelding Keindeer. It was mile heats, three 
in five, in harness. Reindeer was withdrawn, and Flora 
beat Ike Cook in three heats. The best time was 2m. 30£s., 
and the last heat 2m. 42s. On the 15th, at Kalamazoo, 
Flora and Prince appeared again, mile heats, and the result 
was the same as at Detroit. On the 27th, they went mile 
heats, three in five, at Sandusky, Ohio, — same result. Best 
time, 2m. 35s. On the 4th of November, she trotted for 
a purse of $500 against the gelding Reindeer, and beat 
him in three heats. Two of these, however, were in 
2.28. 

On the 25th of that month, Flora trotted for a purse at 
St. Louis, mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Rein- 
deer, who had before paid forfeit to her, and who had been 
beaten by her at Adrian. Still he had made the best race 
with her that had been made that year, and had only been de- 
feated by a throat-latch in the third heat in 2m. 28s. For 
the race at St. Louis, his trainer, Otis Dimmock, brought 
him out in excellent condition, while Flora was no doubt off. 
She acted badly, and lost the first heat in 2m. 34s. She 
was still backed at odds of 100 to 80. It can hardly be got 
into the heads of some people that horses are not always at 



THE TROT TING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 293 

about their best. Half the calculations made in England, 
so far as I can see, proceed upon the assumption that all the 
horses are always right. If they were, the turf-prophets 
could select the winners more often than they do. Flora 
was distanced in the second heat in 2.35s. 

Two days afterwards, she was herself again, and beat 
Reindeer, two-mile heats, in harness, in 5m. ll^s., 5m. 17£s., 
over a very heavy track. One more race at mile heats, 
three in five, they had on the 2d of December. It was 
a stoutly-contested one of five heats. Reindeer won the 
first and second in 2.31i, 2.31J ; but Mora lasted the longest 
in the heavy ground, and took the third, fourth, and fifth 
in 2.30J, 2.32£, 2.36J. Her races that year with Reindeer 
were'the only ones in which she was called upon to put 
forth her speed. He made her show the people of Adrian 
and St. Louis the worth of their money. 

The next year, 1859, was the most arduous, the most 
eventful, and the most glorious, for her in all her history. 
She was now fourteen years old ; and her labors and perform- 
ances in that season show what an extraordinary good 
little mare she was. She then exalted herself to a height 
of fame that many believe will hardly ever be equalled ; 
though my opinion is, and has been for some time, that 
Dexter, if he meets with no accident, will surpass, in 
harness and to wagon, all that she ever accomplished. I 
ventured to predict this some time ago, and it was published 
in " The Spirit of the Times." I still adhere to it. The 
opinion may be wrong, but it is mine. Time, as it goes 
along from year to year, and time as it is taken in the 
judges' stand when the winning horse comes to the score, 
will show. The amazing goodness of this little mare, four- 
teen years old, was, however, established beyond all cavil in 
1859. She met better horses in that year than she had 
ever done before ; for, whatever may be thought about Prin- 
cess, she then first encountered George M. Patchen, the Jer- 



294 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

sey stallion, who was, beyond all doubt in my mind, the best 
horse that ever competed with her. Then, agaii, the dis- 
tance she travelled was enormous ; and the races i:he trotted 
numbered no less than twenty-three, all but one of which 
she won. 



XXXYI. 

Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. — Flora and Princess. — Description of 
Princess. — Her Driver, James Eoff. — His Artful Strategy, and inveterate 
Humbug. — Princess beats Floi'a Two-Mile Heats. — Flora wins, Mile- 
Heats, Three "in Five. — The best previous Time beaten in all the Heats. 

IT was in 1859 that the fame of Flora Temple reached its 
highest point. Her first race that season was with 
Ethan Allen, at the Fashion Course. It was on the 31st of 
May, for a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, to 
wagons. The race between Ethan and mate, and Lantern 
and mate, in double harness, had greatly increased the repu- 
tation of the little bay stallion ; but, in considering the dead 
heat of 2m. 24}s., there was not enough allowed for the part 
in it which belonged to the running-horse. This way of 
going had not then become familiar ; and nearly all the merit 
of the performance was attributed to the trotter, when ii 
ought to have been given to the runner, who pulled 'all the 
weight, and carried the trotter along with him. Ethan 
Allen has since trotted with a runner faster than 2m. 20s. ; 
and, from what has been confided to me respecting his trials 
in that rig, he can do a great deal better than that. 

For this race on the Fashion Course, the odds was on 
Flora. I drove the stallion, and felt satisfied that he would 
make Flora trot a great race ; but, as it was plain that her 
condition was good, I had no great confidence of winning it. 
In the first heat we got away together, and the pace was 
strong. Ethan Allen was always very rapid to begin with. 
On the turn, the mare got up, but was caught by the time 
I was a length ahead. Tallman now steadied her with a 

295 



296 THE TROTTING-IIOESE OF AMEBIC A. 

pull ; and, at the quarter, I led her two lengths and a half. 
At the half-mile, in lm. lis., Ethan had a length and a 
half of lead ; but the mare was coming with uncommon 
speed and resolution. Gaining inch by inch, she collared 
him on the lower turn, and he made a skip. She led at the 
head of the stretch ; but the little horse finished very game- 
ly, and she beat him but a length in 2m. 25s., — the best 
mile that had ever been trotted to a wagon. 

It was also the best mile that he ever trotted single ; and 
though, having been defeated, he gets no record for it, it is 
just as much to be considered for his credit, in estimating 
his value as a stallion, as if he had won in 2m. 25^s. The 
second and third heats were won by the mare. The time 
of each was 2m. 27|s. Flora thus, in the first race of the 
season, gave a sample of her mature powers. Darius Tall- 
man drove her that day. The time she made remained un- 
equalled for above five years ; but, finally, George Wilkes 
made it in a second heat on the Union Course, when the 
track was not fast, and the weather was unfavorable for clear 
wind. It is just also to say, that, though Ethan Allen 
gained no money by that race with Flora, he added much to 
his fame. 

On the 16th of June, Elora met a new and formidable 
competitor in the bay mare Princess. This mare had for- 
merly been called Topsy, under which name she had trotted 
fast in the West. She was then taken to California, and be- 
came the property of Mr. Teakle, a gentleman of fine parts 
and enterprise, and high character. She had been brought 
from the Pacific side to New York by James Eoff, a very 
able trainer and driver, and generally thought to be as 
hardy and unscrupulous as any man in our profession. Prin- 
cess was a mare of singular beauty and high quality, com- 
bined with strength. I do not know her pedigree : I have 
heard several different stories about it; but she showed 
blood, and must have had a good strain in her. Her temper 
was not of the best j and, though she had a great gift of 



1TIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 297 

speed, she was not steady enough to be alwa} r s reliable. Her 
bottom was great. Before leaving California to come here, 
she twice beat Glencoe Chief, ten miles, to wagons ; winning 
those races in 29m. 10^ s., and 29m. 16|s. The first of 
these races was for the large amount of $3G,500, and the 
second for $10,000. Her best mile in public had been 2m. 
30s. ; but I have heard that she went an amazingly fast mile 
to wagon in a trial with a pacing-horse, and that trial in- 
duced Mr. Teakle to bring her eastward again. 

Eoff was a great master of humbug, and had got up so 
much mystery and speculation in regard to this mare that 
Flora's owner refused to match her. An arrangement was 
then entered into that they should trot three-mile heats and 
two-mile heats, to wagons, on the Eclipse Course, and divide 
the gate-money. It was given out that they were matched 
for $2,500 a side; but the truth is, that there was nothing 
at stake between them. They trotted the three-mile heats 
on the lGth of June, in the presence of a great crowd. 
Eoff had so worked upon the belief of many credulous peo- 
ple, that they actually laid on 7m. 30s., to wagon, which 
would have beaten Dutchman's time uuder saddle by two 
seconds and a half. Tallman drove Flora ; and Eoff, Princess. 
The beauty and style of the latter were much admired ; but 
the odds were upon the little mare who had won such a gal- 
lant race, a little more than a fortnight previous, from Ethan 
Allen. It was a hundred to twenty-five on her. Before 
they started, there came up a thunder-shower, which 
drenched thousands of people to the skin, and made the 
course slippery and bad. In the first heat, Princess took 
the lead, and kept it for nearly a mile ; but Flora got to her 
head a few strides from the score, and they crossed it to- 
gether in 2.37. Tallman made a waiting-race of it, and 
pull 3d Flora back three lengths ; but, at the score again, the 
big mare only led her a length. The time of that mile was 
2m. 40Js. Flora made a little skip on the turn, and Prin- 
cess was three lengths ahead at the quarter. But now her 



298 TIIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

time was come. The little mare made such a fine rush that 
she was at the head of Princess at the half-mile pole. She 
took the lead, and won with great ease by five lengths, in 
7m. 54s., amidst great shouting. 

Ten to one was now laid; and it was whispered about that 
Eoff would not let Princess win it. He very likely insti- 
gated the report himself; for it was a part of his tactics to 
make people believe that Princess could beat Flora, when- 
ever it became his interest to let her do so. In the second 
heat, Flora took the lead. The first mile was 2.37£., the 
second 2.36^. In the third mile, Flora began to come back ; 
and she pulled a shoe off, and cut her quarter. Half-way 
up the stretch, Flora broke and many believed that Eoff 
might then have passed her, and won the heat, if he had 
wanted to do so. Flora was in a hobble all the way home, 
and broke three times after she passed the drawgate ; but 
Princess never got to her, and the little mare won it in 7m. 
50 J, s. About nineteen out of twenty people believed that 
Eoff pulled Princess in the last heat, on purpose to lose it. 
But, if he had a mare that could have beaten Flora, the odds 
that day were ver}' tempting. He told a plausible, and I am 
inclined to think a truthful, story. It was, that Princess 
was as tired as Flora was ; that, if he had sent her ever so 
little at the finish, she would have broken up ; and, as she is 
a bad breaker, that would have lost it. The truth, to my 
mind, is, that Princess never could beat Flora when the lat- 
ter was at herself ; and Eoff was, of all the men in America, 
the man who knew it best. Flora, however, was not at her 
best that day. 

The charges against Eoff for pulling and losing, when he 
could have won, were so loud and general, that there was an 
investigation by the Union Jockey Club. Eoff appeared, 
and made his statement ; but of all those who had declared, 
that, if the reins had broken, Princess could not have lost 
it, not one came forward to substantiate the charge. The 
after-experience of Princess and Flora showed that the 



THE TROT TING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 299 

former could not beat the latter when they were both right ; 
and what has since been seen of Eoff's management of the 
California stallion (George M. Patchen, jun.) throws some 
light upon his doings with Princess. In spite of their 
experience in the Princess case, he persuaded the people 
that this stallion could beat Dexter whenever he wanted to 
let him do it ; and many continued to believe so after it was 
palpable to any man of good judgment that the gelding 
could lose him in any race that they might go. 

In a week after the race of three-mile heats to wagons, 
Flora and Princess trotted two-mile heats in harness. The 
betting opened at 100 to 70 on Flora; but, before they 
started, it was even. Tallman drove Flora again ; and, in 
scoring, she seemed rank and wild. Princess, on the other 
hand, was quite steady ; and, from all appearances, her race 
to wagon had done her good. They went away at a great 
rate ; and, before Flora had got round the turn, she pulled a 
shoe off and cut her quarter : this gave Princess the lead. 
The latter-trotted the first mile in 2m. 26s., but there was 
no daylight between her and Flora. On the turn, Flora 
broke. When she caught, she trotted very fast; and, 
making a swift and resolute dart to close with Princess on 
the back-stretch, she grabbed off her other fore-shoe, and cut 
her quarter badly. Princess won the heat easily in 5m. 2s., 
and might, no doubt, have trotted it considerably faster if 
she had been pressed in the second mile. It was ten to one 
on the California mare. Flora was a little lame when 
brought out for the second heat. Princess took the lead, 
kept it all the way, and won handily in 5m. 05s. 

The general opinion was, that little Flora had her mis- 
tress, and that Princess could beat her anywhere. But 
the truth is, that people forgot the wonderful constitution 
and come-again qualities of Flora. While with all her 
speed, bottom, and fine way of going, Princess was an 
uncertain mare, and nothing like as reliable for a long 
campaign as Flora was. The news of this race created a 



300 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

great sensation all over the country ; and I must here say, 
that, in spite of her defeat, many stuck to Flora, and con- 
tended that the verdict obtained by Princess would be 
reversed, with heavy costs and damages, when there was a 
new trial. On the 6th of August, after a good let-up for 
Flora to repair her injuries and grow out her quarters, 
these famous mares again appeared to dispute for victory. 
It was on the Eclipse Course, mile heats, three in five. 
Few that witnessed the doings of that memorable day will 
ever forget it. Princess was the favorite at 100 to 80, and 
everybody looked for a fast race ; but few expected such 
heats as they saw. The crowd in attendance was very 
great, but there was not much betting. 

I suppose ninety out of every hundred who were present ex- 
pected to see Flora defeated. I confess that I thought Prin- 
cess likely to win it ; although I was satisfied, that, when at 
her best, Flora could trot in twenty in harness. The truth 
is, that Princess was a little over-rated. It is often the case, 
that when a trotter wins with great ease, especially if the one 
defeated is a famous one, a calculation is forthwith made in 
which it is assumed, not that the loser was "off," but that 
the winner is greatly superior. This assumption is com- 
monly erroneous. Another wide-spread error lies at the 
bottom of it. In spite of all authority and experience to 
the contrary, people generally believe that a horse, if there 
is nothing apparently ailing him, is as good one day as 
another. This is not so ; and mares, especially in the spring 
season, are still more uncertain. Flora was driven by James 
McMann in this race ; and, as soon as she was brought out 
and set a-going, I could see that she felt well, and was in 
fine condition. She was full of life and spirit ; and her 
muscle was greatly developed, without much flesh. She 
meant mischief. In the first heat, she had the inside. At the 
word she darted to the front, out-footed the Princess to 
the quarter in thirty-five seconds, and got a lead of about 
twenty yards. Flora did the half-mile in lm. lO-^s. ; and 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 301 

Princess must have trotted the second quarter very fast, for, 
at the pole, Flora's lead was only a length. Thus they went 
until half way up the home-stretch ; when the frantic shout 
of thousands of her admirers inspired the little mare to one 
of her great rushes, and she won the heat by three lengths 
in 2m. 23£s. When the judges announced that the record 
was a second better than ever before, and that Flora 
was still the sovereign mistress of it, the people were nigh 
crazy with joy. There was no betting between the heats ; 
and many yet believed that Eoff could win the race if he 
liked to do so. 

Flora had a bad start in the second heat. She was a length 
and a half behind, and under a pull when the word was 
given; but she darted on to Princess with such a rush 
that she collared her before she was well at the turn, and 
up went the California mare. At the quarter-pole, in 
thirty-four seconds, Flora led six or seven lengths. At the 
half-mile, in lm. 09s., her lead was not quite so great ; but 
she kept all the daylight open to the score, and won by 
six lengths in 2m. 22s. It was a capital heat for Flora ; 
and, though she afterwards beat it on this Island at the 
Union and Fashion Courses, she never surpassed it much, 
considering the bad start s/ie had. I shall always contend 
that Flora's best heat was made on this Island. The Kalama- 
zoo Course, on which she beat 2m. 20s., may have been a 
mile. It was certified as a mile, and it is too late now to go 
behind what the record says ; but, if that was a mile, our 
Island courses are more than a mile, for they measure a 
mile one foot nearer the pole than that did. Besides, it is 
a well-known fact, that the Eclipse Course, now called the 
Centreville, is more than a mile. Even after this heat, 
some continued in the belief that Princess could have won it. 

In the third heat, Flora took the lead, and went to the 
quarter in thirty-five seconds, three lengths ahead. Prin- 
cess gained two lengths in the straight quarter, on the 
back-stretch, and yet Flora got to the half in lm. 10s. The 



302 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

California mare drew forward until she was head-and-head 
with Flora. It looked critical ; but the big mare was at her 
best, and Flora had still a link to let out. McMann 
touched her with the whip, and away she went. At the 
head of the stretch, she had the best of it, and, lasting' the 
longest, came home the winner by three lengths in 2m. 23Aa. 
There had never been any thing like such a trot before. 
The best previous time had been beaten by two seconds and 
a half, and it had been beaten in all the heats. Princess 
had established the fact, that she was an extraordinary 
mare ; but Flora's glory and reputation had been re- 
stored. She had not only showed as much speed as Prin- 
cess anywhere, but had beat her in the rushes at the begin- 
ning, and, in the desperate brushes afterwards, had lasted 
the longest. Still it is to be remembered that she had the 
pole to begin with ; and it actually seemed as if she was as 
well aware of the advantage she derived from that fact as any 
man on the ground. The dart after Princess in the second 
heat, when Flora was behind at the start, appeared to be 
inspired by reasoning, as though she made up her mind to 
this effect : " If she gets the pole, she beats me ! " The 
rejoicing caused by that victory of hers spread from the 
shores of the ocean where it was achieved to the distant 
States and Territories which lie beyond the Mississippi 
River j for this little mare had become a national character. 



XXXVII. 



Flora Temple and Princess again. — Flora Avins Two-Mile Heats. — They go 
Hippodroming. — Flora trots in 2m. 21£s., with Ike Cook, at Cincinnati. 
— Her Performance at Kalamazoo. — 2m. 19|s. 



Flora Temple and Princess- met again at the Eclipse 
Course, on the 16th of August, to trot two-mile heats in 
harness. In spite of Flora's grand performance on the 9th, 
many still believed that the California mare was able to 
beat her, especially at two-mile heats. This feeling was so 
general that Princess was the favorite at 100 to 80 ; but I 
think there was but very little betting at those rates, and 
the odds were more nominal than real. The mares were both 
in fine condition ; and as the day and, track were good, a per- 
formance of uncommon speed was looked for. Those who 
expected it were not at all disappointed, as, before they went 
home, they saw the fastest two-mile heat that ever was 
trotted. 

In the first heat, Princess had the best of the start ; and 
they went away at a rapid gait, — a tremendous gait for a 
two-mile heat. The little mare gained inch by inch ; and at 
the quarter, in 35s., Princess had but a neck and shoulder 
the best of it. At the half-mile, in lm. ll|s., Princess led 
a neck only. Soon after passing the pole they were head- 
and-head, and a most excellent neck-and-neck race followed 
all around the lower turn. As they swung into the stretch 
Flora led by a neck ; but the California mare gained it on 
the straight work, and they were neck-and-neck again at 
the distance. At the shout of the people, as they came on 

303 



304 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

thus, Flora made a dart ahead, and crossed the score a length 
in the lead in 2m. 23s. At the quarter-pole Flora's lead 
was two lengths, and this she carried to the half. So it 
continued round the lower turn. Princess was unable to 
close with Flora ; but the latter had to keep the pace very 
strong to retain the lead. But, when they struck the home- 
stretch, the long struggle at such a great rate had settled 
the California mare, while Flora remained full of trot. 
Princess broke badly. Flora made a lightning rush at the 
shout that was set up, and Eoff had no great deal to spare 
in saving his distance. The time of the heat, trotted all 
the way without a skip or a break, and some of it at the 
rate of 2m. 20s. to the mile, was 4m. 50 |s. It still remains 
the best two-mile heat that ever was trotted in harness. 
I never saw but one in any way of going to equal it; 
and that was when Dexter trotted his two miles to wagon 
in 4m. 56^s., and jogged in from half way up the stretch. 

After this heat in 4m. 50£s., Eoff complained that Flora 
crossed him on the turn in the second mile. The judges, 
however, held that she was far enough ahead to take the 
pole without compelling Princess to shorten her stride. 
McMann, in turn, claimed the race as well as the heat, 
because Princess, as he alleged, was distanced; but the 
truth was, there was no judge in the distance-stand, the 
distance-judge having got by mistake into the distance-stand 
for mile heats, three in five. The trotting of this heat had 
opened the eyes of those who had up to that time believed 
that the California mare would beat Flora whenever Eoff 
called upon her to do so. It was clear enough that, how- 
ever fast she might have gone in California, in the trial with 
the pacer, she was at her best in the first mile of that heat, 
where Flora was a length ahead in 2m. 23s. It was equally 
plain that Flora had out-lasted as well as out-trotted Prin- 
cess ; and, the farther they went, the more evident her supe- 
riority became. There were plenty of betters now ready to 
lay a hundred to thirty on Flora. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 305 

In the second heat, Princess had the best of the start, 
and tock the pole from Flora before she had lead enough to 
justify her in doing so. On the lower turn, Flora got to 
her head, and another neck-and-neck struggle ensued. On 
the stretch, Flora got a little the best of it ; and rushing on 
with great vigor when she felt herself among her shouting 
friends and admirers, she led a length and a half at the 
score in 2m. 24s. On the turn, Flora ran over a man who 
had no business to be there, and then broke ; but just then 
Princess broke, and Flora was first down to her work. At 
the quarter, she led five lengths, and at the half-mile Prin- 
cess was dead-beat and tired. The rest of the heat was no 
contest at all. Flora jogged out in 5m. 5s. ; the second mile 
being trotted in 2m. 41s. The question of superiority 
between these beautiful and capital mares had now been 
fairly tested. It was found, that, while the California mare 
was second to no other but Flora, she certainly was second 
to her. The recent contest had removed all doubt. 
Although there was no money at stake between them, 
the drivers had done their best to win ; and some, indeed, 
thought they had both done more than they had any right 
to do, in view of the rule against foul driving. These 
mares, while only trotting for gate-money, had showed the 
two finest trots that had then been witnessed ; but still I am 
persuaded that the example then set, and since followed, 
of going hippodroming round the country to trot for 
gate-money, which was already appropriated and divided 
without any reference to which might win, was pernicious. 

However, they set off on an excursion of that character, 
and first showed at Boston on the 23d of August, to some 
sixteen thousand people. It was mile heats, three in five, 
in harness, and Flora won in three heats, — 2m. 26^s. being 
the fastest, the others being 2m. 33s., and 2m. 34s. Upon 
the principle of making hay while the sun shone, they ap- 
peared at Saratoga on the 27th. Flora won again in three 
heats, tr 3 fastest of which was 2m. 30s. From Saratoga 
20 



306 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMEBIC A. 

tliey went away down east to Portland, in Maine, and gave 
an exhibition there on the 1st of September. Flora won all 
the heats again, — the fastest, 2m. 26^s. 

The next trot was at Suffolk Park, Philadelphia ; and this 
was for a real purse given by the proprietor, and not for a 
share of the gate-money. It was the opening of that Park. 
It was on the 8th of September ; and the purse was $1,500, 
mile heats, three in five, in harness. The day was fine, the 
expectation was great ; and no less than twelve thousand peo- 
ple had come together to see the mighty mares. At the 
start, in the first heat, Flora rushed off at great speed, and 
Princess soon broke badly. While she was bobbing up and 
down, Flora opened a great gap, and could easily have dis- 
tanced her ; but McMann took a long pull and a strong pull, 
and let Princess come up, so as to make it look a little like 
a race. Flora won by three lengths : time, 2m. 4l£s. 

When that time was announced, there was a good deal of 
dissatisfaction expressed. The people hooted and groaned 
at Eoff, but it was not his fault. The mare had lost her 
fine turn of speed in a measure, and was becoming more 
and more unsteady. Flora had got her on the go-down- 
wards, and was fast breaking her heart. However, the 
judges pacified the crowd, by announcing, that, if Princess 
did not win the next heat, I should drive her in the third. 
She made another bad break in the second heat, and was 
beat in 2m. 31s. I was then induced to drive her. I did 
not much like the arrangement ; for my opinion was, that she 
had no more chance to beat Flora that day than I had to 
beat her and go a-foot : but, as the judges had quieted the 
threats of the crowd by means of this device, I consented. 
Flora took the lead at the start, trotted the heat io 2m. 23s., 
and Princess was distanced. 

On the 10th, the mares trotted at Baltimore. The first 
heat Flora won in 2m. 29s. ; the second in 2m. 31s. ; the 
third, she trotted in 2m. 22s. ; and Eoff pulled I -incess up 
at the half-mile pole, there being no semblance of a contest. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMEBIC A. 307 

From Baltimore to Chicago the mares proceeded, and there 
gave an exhibition on the 16th of September. A bigger farce 
was never enacted anywhere. Flora won the first heat in 
2m. 31s. In the second, she had to wait so long for Prin- 
cess, by reason of her bad breaking, that the heat was 3m. 
21s. The third heat Flora won in 2m. 26^s. 

Flora next appeared at Muscatine, Io., her partner there 
being Ike Cook. It was mile heats, three in five, in har- 
ness. Flora won in three heats. These two then travelled 
to Cincinnati, and there trotted in what was advertised as a 
match for $1,000 a side. Flora won it in three heats, the 
last of them being trotted in 2m. 21£s. This beat the time 
made at the Eclipse Course and at Baltimore : but it is to 
be remembered that it was not trotted on Mr. Cassady's old 
Queen-City Course, but on a new one ; and there is good 
reason to believe that it measured a little short. I have 
heard from good authority that it was not then a full mile. 
But the people did not know that fact ; and the news that 
the little mare was gradually coming down towards 2m. 20s., 
created much interest all over the country. 

Expectation was rife in regard to her. And now she was 
about to make her fastest heat. It was on the 15th of Oc- 
tober, at Kalamazoo, in Michigan, that she appeared, to trot 
with Princess and a horse named Honest Anse. The peo- 
ple of the famous oak-openings country have always mani- 
fested much fondness and liberality towards trotters. They 
gave a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness. 
Flora Temple, Princess, and Honest Anse appeared to trot 
for it. The first heat was just about fast enough to warm 
Flora up. In the second, Honest Anse made her trot fa*t 
for three-quarters of a mile : he then shut up, and she won 
it in 2m. 22£s. He was then withdrawn, and Flora and 
Princess started for the third heat. The little mare went 
clean away from Princess ; did the first half in lm. 9s., and 
trotted the heat in 2m. 19 f s. The news created very great 
excitement j and many believed that the course was short. 



308 ^ TEE TROTTINQ-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

These were, in fact, more than half right ; for, upon its being 
measured, it was found necessary to get four feet from the 
pole to make it a mile ; while our Island tracks all measure 
a little more than a mile three feet from the pole. There- 
fore the Kalamazoo Course, at that time, was not as long as 
the Union or Eclipse Course. Still it was but a trifle short. 
Every track, however, ought to be full measure ; and it is a 
greatly-mistaken policy to have any course short, be it ever 
so little. 



(/ 



XXXVIII. 

Flora Temple and George M. Patclien. — Description of Patchen. — His Pedi- 
gree. — Patchen's Early Performances. — Dan Mace as a Driver and 
Rider. — Flora and Ethan Allen. — Flora and Patchen again. — The b*»at 
Race ever made by Flora, and the best a Stallion ever made. 

FLORA TEMPLE, after her grand exploit at Kala- 
mazoo, went to Cleveland, where she beat Princess with 
great ease and in poor time ; and then, at Cuyahoga Falls, on 
the 28th of October, she beat Ike Cook. They had four heats 
of it : the second was a dead heat. The time was slow in 
all of them. At Buffalo, on the 2d of November, Elora 
beat Ike Cook in three heats, the best of which was 2m. 
23^s. On the 5th, Flora, Ike Cook, and Belle of Saratoga 
went three-quarter-mile heats in harness ; and Elora won it 
in three heats. On the 11th, Elora and Ike Cook trotted at 
St. Catharine's, Canada; and the mare won in three heats. 
That may be said to have been the last of Elora Temple's 
hippodroming, at least for a season. 

She was brought to New York, and entered for a purse of 
$1,000, given by the Union Course. It was mile heats, 
three in five : the mare was to go in harness, while her only 
competitor was to go under saddle. This competitor was 
the famous stallion George M. Patchen, who had not been 
very long on the turf, but had already proved himself to be 
fast and lasting, and good in every way of going, either 
under saddle, in harness, or to wagon. He was a powerful 
brown horse, that had been foaled on the farm of W. H. 
Sickles, which is about half-way between Keyport and 

309 



310 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

Freehold, N.J. The mare that dropped him belonged to 
Mr. Carman of Westchester County. She had been sent 
to Mr. Sickles to be wintered ; and it was not thought she 
was in foal, though she had been covered : in fact, Mr. 
Carman told Mr. Sickles, that, if she was in foal, he might 
have the produce. That produce was Patchen. He was 
above sixteen hands high, with great strength and much 
bone. He was. coarse about the head, and heavy in the 
carcass ; but though he was what you might call a plain 
horse, his points were uncommonly strong and good, and his 
action was capital. 

He had good blood in him : for he was got by Cassius M. 
Clay, who was by old Henry Clay ; and his dam was by a 
young horse who was own brother to Trustee the trotter, 
So here was the Bashaw blood through Andrew Jackson, tho 
Messenger blood also through him, the blood of imported 
Trustee, and the blood of the famous trotting-mare Fanny 
Pullen, who was herself a high-bred trotting-mare. Some 
have doubted whether the sire of Patchen's dam was own 
brother to Trustee the twenty-miler ; but, after inquiry, I 
have reason to believe so. Her sire was a three-year-old colt, 
by imported Trustee, out of Fanny Pullen. Patchen's dam 
was probably the only foal he ever got ; for he was soon made 
a gelding, and was driven for many years by a gentleman in 
Westchester County. He was himself a fast and stout 
trotter. 

In 1858, Patchen was matched against Ethan Allen, mile 
heats, three in five, to 1001b. wagons. The little horse 
distanced the big one in 2m. 28s. But, while Flora was upon 
her exhibitions in the West with Princess, Patchen had 
performed on Long Island and at Philadelphia with great 
success and distinction. He had been sold, in whole or in 
part, to John Buckley, and was trained and driven by 
Darius Tallman. He had that season beaten such horses 
as Brown Dick and Lancet ; had trotted two heats in har- 
ness in one race in 2m. 26£s., and 2m. 26|s. ; and, in another 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 311 

race, he had gone in 2m. 25£s. under the saddle. He was, 
therefore, no mean opponent for the very best. 

The day for this trot was the 21st of November. It was 
a cold, raw day, with a strong wind blowing; and the course, 
as is almost always the case so late in the season, was 
heavy. James McMann drove the little mare ; and Dan 
Mace, a rider and driver of uncommon resolution and ability, 
was on the stallion. Mace is one of the best drivers that 
we have ; but, according to my notion, his horses break more 
than trotters ought to do. I think it should be the aim of 
the trainer and driver to keep the horse at or near his best 
on a trot ; to teach him to stay there when going fast ; and to 
depend upon his steady-trotting powers, instead of using 
him to relieve himself three or four times in every mile by 
getting up. But, in a race, Mace is an opponent that needs 
watching. He is very resolute, and the horses he handles 
know it. His judgment is good, at times when judgment is 
absolutely required, which is just when some people lose it. 
And, besides all that, he knows enough to wait until his 
time has come, when he has the right sort of horse. The 
races he won in that way with Buffalo Prince — five or 
six, and I think, once or twice, seven heats — were very cred^ 
itable to him ; and it is no more than proper that I should 
say so. But, with all his skill as a driver, I think he was, 
as a rider, equally in the right place. His style is not quite 
as elegant as is sometimes seen ; but he seems to grow out 
of his horse, and to squeeze him with a clip of the knees 
like the gripe of a vice. His hand upon the bridle is light 
and delicate until the horse needs help to finish ; and then he 
takes hold of his head with a power that seems to be almost 
irresistible, and fairly launches him over the score. He, as 
I have said, was upon George M. Patchen at the first of his 
meetings with Flora Temple ; and he afterwards rode Gen- 
eral Butler, when he beat Patchen under saddle, and was 
compelled to go in 2m. 21s. to do it. 

There were not many at the Union Course when Flora 



312 THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 

and Patclien came out to trot, for the day was very unpleas- 
ant. In the first heat, Patchen took the lead, and was two 
lengths in front at the quarter. On the back-stretch he 
broke, and Flora went by him ; but he trotted fast, and, after 
a long brush, got to her head again at the drawgate. He 
did not, however, succeed in keeping to his trot, but broke 
again ; and she won in 2m. 28s. In the second heat, they 
trotted very fast ; the stallion going like a whirlwind in 
places, but not with the steadiness of the mare. Her even 
stroke, and fine dash at the conclusion, won it in 2m. 23s. 
The third was a tremendous heat. Flora was first over the 
score by half a length, in 2m. 24s. ; but the heat was given 
to the stallion, because Flora broke near home, and had 
crossed him when she ought not to have done so. It may 
be doubted whether a strict construction of the rules would 
not have warranted the distancing of her; but it is probable 
the judges based their decision on the break, and not on the 
crossing. 

They came up for another heat, and went away at great 
speed without the word. It was getting dark; and, in spite 
of the recall, they kept on. Flora come out ahead; but the 
judges had not given the word, and declared it no heat. 
The race was postponed until the following day, but was 
never trotted out. On the 24th of November, it being 
Thanksgiving Day, Flora Temple and Ethan Allen trotted 
for a purse of $1,500, mile heats, three in five, in harness. 
Flora got off on a hobble, broke at the turn, and lost the 
first heat in 2m. 27s. The second heat was a good one. 
The stallion was out-trotted for the first half-mile, and Flora 
took the pole ; but he got to her head as they swung into 
the straight work, and, for a moment, looked like winning it. 
He was, however, unable to maintain the pace, and broke. 
She won that heat in 2m. 26£s., and took the third and 
fourth in 2m. 27s., 2m. 29-J. They had not yet done with 
her that winter; for, on the first of December, she trotted 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Ethan Allen, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 313 

at Baltimore, and beat him in 2m. 27£s., 2m. 26js., 2m. 
25£s. 

It seemed now, that, after the downfall of Princess, and the 
way in which Flora had finished up her long and arduous 
campaign of 1859, she would remain at ease, the acknowl- 
edged Queen and Mistress of the Trotting- turf. But this 
was not the case. It was found that the Jersey stallion, 
George M. Patchen, was an improving horse ; and, in the 
spring of 1860, he was matched against her for $1,000, 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, over the Union Course. 
It came off on the 6th of June. The race created a great deal 
of interest, and the betting ran high. The friends of 
Patchen were sanguine. On the 16th of May, he had de- 
feated Ethan Allen on the Union Course in harness in 2m. 
25s., 2m. 24s., 2m. 29s. ; and on the 23d, had beaten Ethan 
Allen to wagons in 2m. 26.±s., 2m. 27s., 2m. 31s. Still, 
the memory of what Flora had done would hang in the 
minds of the people ; and, prior to the da}?-, she was backed 
at 100 to 80. The day was as fine as could be wished, and 
there was an immense crowd present. The horses looked 
as well as they could look. James McMann drove Flora, 
and Tallman did the same for Patchen. Before the 
start, there was a change in the betting, and Patchen was 
backed at odds of 100 to 80. 

The stallion had the pole. In scoring for the first heat, 
he seemed to have the foot of Flora, and went flying by the 
stand ahead of her, as many as five or six times, before they 
got the word. The start was even ; but Flora soon made a 
skip, and the. stallion got the lead: but the mare caught, 
and, going on with uncommon resolution, headed him, 
and led a length at the quarter in 35s. On the straight 
work, she drew away a little more ; but the stallion now 
made a great burst of speed, and she broke. At the half- 
mile, in lm. lis., he had a lead of a length, and soon 
increased it to two lengths ; but, upon the turn, the mare 



314 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

squared herself, drew up to him, and came into the stretch 
with him. The struggle home, was one of the fastest and 
closest things that ever was seen. They came on neck-and- 
neck at an amazing rate ; and within three strides of home, it 
seemed to be a dead heat. McMann, at the very last, struck 
Flora sharply with the whip, let go of her head, and with 
one desperate effort she was first, by a throat-latch, in 2m. 
21s., the best time that we had then seen on the Island. 
The last half-mile had been trotted in lm. 10s., and was 
a neck-and-neck race nearly all the way. 

In the second heat, Flora was two lengths ahead at the 
quarter-pole; and Patchen breaking on the back-stretch, her 
lead was three lengths at the half-mile. On the lower turn 
he closed the daylight ; and another very hard, close struggle 
up the home-stretch, ended in his defeat by only a neck 
in 2m. 24s. Tallman made an appeal after this heat, 
alleging that McMann had driven foul, by swerving out, 
and compelling him to go to the extreme outside. The 
judges disagreed; but the majority overruled the objection, 
much to the delight of the largest number of the people 
present. Many, however, believed, and still believe, that if 
the appeal had been made for her in a like state of the case, 
and if it had been allowed, there would have been quite as 
much hallooing. 

In the third heat they got off well together. On the turn 
she led slightly, being on the inside, and at the quarter, in 
36s., she led him nearly a length. He now made a wonder- 
ful effort, and trotted one of the best quarters that I have 
ever seen. He was nearly a length behind at the quarter- 
pole in 36s. ; at the half-mile pole in lm. 10s. he led. 
Therefore, he trotted this, the second quarter in the third 
heat, in better than 34s. On the lower turn, he led two 
lengths. But the mare now gathered herself up for one of 
her rushes, and closed with him. Up the stretch it was 
again, close and hot. But she had a little the best of it, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 315 

and at the very last pinch he broke. She won in 2m. 2l£s. 
I consider this the best race that Flora Temple ever 
made ; and as the stallion was so kittle behind her that the 
difference could not be appreciated by timing, it shows what 
a remarkable and excellent horse he also was. No other 
stallion has ever made as good a race as he made that day. 



XXXIX. 

Flora Temple and Patchen, Two-mile Heats. — Flora and Patchen at Phila- 
delphia. — Outside Interference. • 

ON the 12th of June, Flora Temple and George M. 
Patchen trotted two-mile heats in harness, at the 
Union Course. The capital race made by the stallion at 
mile heats emboldened some to back him ; but the general 
public considered the little mare as invincible. She was the 
favorite at long odds : two to one was current, and in \nany 
instances a hundred to forty was laid ; but there was nothing 
to justify such odds as this. Flora had only beaten the stal- 
lion in the mile-race by the most desperate of efforts, and in 
unparalleled time. It was true that she was known to be a 
good stayer ; but his reputation for sticking close and com- 
ing again was also great. He was a horse that would blow 
so hard after an arduous heat, that one would think he was 
distressed: but he relieved himself quickly in that matter; 
and I have no doubt his heart was large, and his lungs 
sound and strong. He was now controlled by Mr. Joseph 
Hall of Rochester ; but Tallman still trained and drove him 
well. The expectation of the people was, that amazing time 
would be made in this race. They had become so used to 
the cutting-down of old Time by Flora, just as he cuts down 
all things with his swinging scythe, that they looked for 
what was extremely improbable, — a heat better than that in 
which the little mare beat Princess in 4m. 50 £s. Many bets 
were laid that a heat would be made in 4m. 50s. A consid- 
erable number of men went as low as 4m. 48s v and some 
put the time down to 4m. 46s. 

316 



THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 317 

They both seemed very fit ; and, in scoring, Patchen's 
stride was particularly bold and commanding. The mare 
was fast too ; but I rather fancied that she was somewhat 
short and hurried in her action that day. At the start in 
the first heat, Patchen, having the pole, drew a length ahead 
at the quarter, and had increased his lead to two lengths at 
the half-mile in lm. 12s. Flora trailed him, hugging close 
to the inside. He kept the pace very strong, making the 
second half-mile in lm. lis., and thus doing the first mile 
in 2m. 23s. Flora still kept close behind, trailing. On the 
back-stretch, the stallion broke, and Flora passed him. Pie 
made another break ; and, on the lower turn, she led him four 
lengths : but the pull that Tallman took on this turn greatly 
restored his horse, and Flora herself was tiring. When 
they reached the straight side to come home, the big, pound- 
ing stroke of the stallion came closer and closer, and finally 
away went Flora in a break. The stallion got the lead, and 
trotted over the score a length ahead of the little mare, she 
being on the run. The time of it was 4m. 58|s. 

In the second heat there was an even start. At the quar- 
ter, Patchen led but a neck in 38s. ; but on the straight 
work he trotted amazingly fast, and passed the half-mile 
over a length ahead in lm. 12s. Flora now trailed close to 
the inside, and unable to get through unless he should 
swerve out, or make a bad break ; in which latter case she 
might have gone round him. As they came on inside of 
the distance, he broke ; but the mare was in the pocket, 
and not in a situation to take advantage of it, and keep him 
bothered by going right to his head. The consequence was, 
that the stallion caught again, settled to his trot, and passed 
the score in the lead in 2m. 25s. I have always thought 
that there was an error in judgment made by the driver of 
Flora that day ; but it is quite likely that the stallion would 
have defeated her under any circumstances ; for, well as she 
looked outwardly, she was not quite up to the mark. Patch- 
en now increased his lead. At the half-mile pole, he was 



318 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

two lengths and a half ahead, and she was tired and beat. 
He won it very easily in 4m. 57 £s. A great deal of money 
was lost and won on this race. 

Two matches were made, to be trotted at Suffolk Park, 
Philadelphia, the first, mile heats, three in five ; the second, 
two-mile heats. The first of them was trotted on the 4th 
of July. Flora was the favorite at 100 to 70. The race 
was the fastest and best that ever was trotted at Philadel- 
phia. In fact, few ever surpassed it anywhere. In the first 
heat, Flora was half a length ahead at the quarter, in 34 ^s. 
Just before they reached the half-mile, Patchen got to her 
head, and even showed in front for a moment ; but she was 
going too fast for an endeavor to pass her to be safe, and in 
making such an effort the stallion broke up. She led at the 
half-mile in lm. 09 £s., and opened a gap. He afterwards 
closed it ; and, on the straight work, coming home, got to her 
shoulder. But she had a link in ; and, when she let it out, 
he broke again. She won in 2m. 22^s. 

In the second heat they trotted nearly neck and neck to 
the quarter in 35£s. Flora led a trifle there. On the back- 
stretch he out-trotted her, and led half a length ; but just 
before they got to the half-mile pole she collared him again, 
and made the pole in lm. 10|s. Then she broke, and he 
took the lead ; then he was so hard pressed in his effort to 
maintain it, that he broke, and she was once more in ad- 
vance. At the head of the stretch, they were nearly neck 
and neck, and doing their very best. It need not be said 
that their best trotting, neck and neck, at the rate of about 
2m. 20s. to the mile, was very fine. It is a spectacle which 
has very seldom been seen, except in the races between Flora 
and George M. Patchen; for they were the only two that 
came together capable of doing it, heat after heat. There 
had not been another horse that had been so close to Flora 
Temple herself in speed, in ability to stay a distance, and 
in apparent endurance and capacity to keep at it race after 
race, as George M. Patchen. The finish now was very £-ie. 



THE TROTTINr HORSE OF AMERICA. 319 

Half-way up, wht-n she led him only a neck, he "broke, and 
away she went ahead above a length ; but he soon caught, 
and rushed at her again with such speed and resolution that 
he was at the girths when she crossed the score in 2m. 21^s. 
Before they trotted the third heat, there was a great storm 
of rain, and the track became very muddy. Some held that 
this was favorable to the stallion, but I could never see why. 
Flora was good in all sorts of going ; and I do not believe 
that the ability to go fast in mud depends upon size. Yet 
people said, "He is a big, strong horse, and that helps him 
to get through mud." Now, her action was better calculated 
for heavy going than his was ; and the shape and size of 
her feet were as near perfection for mud or hard road, rain 
or shine, as any I ever saw. At the first quarter of the 
third heat, they were together in 37s. Just before they got 
to the half-mile, Flora broke; at the half-mile, in lm. 17^8., 
he led. When the mare settled, she gradualty drew towards 
him, carried him to a break on the home-stretch, and won 
in 2m. 37£s. 

On the 10th of July, Flora and Patchen trotted two-mile 
heats at Suffolk Park. Previous to the race, the stallion was 
sold to Mr. Waltermire, of New York, who afterwards was 
the sole owner of him to the day of his death. The odds 
were a hundred to seventy on Flora Temple. Before the 
race there was a dispute, and Tallman refused to start. It 
caused a delay until six o'clock in the evening, and preju- 
diced many people against the horse. When they came on 
the course, the odds on the mare advanced to as much as 
$100 to $40. The stallion out-scored Flora, and it was 
some time before they got the word. He had the best of it 
by a length when the judges gave the start ; and, going fast 
before Flora got well at work, he led three lengths at the 
quarter in 35 .Vs., and the same distance at the half-mile in 
lm. 10s. The stallion now made a skip, but was quickly 
and neatly caught by Tallman, and lost nothing. On the 
home-stretch the mare gained on him ; but he was first over 



320 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

the score in 2m. 22s. After going by the stand he increased 
his lead, and at the half-mile pole had three lengths the 
best of it. They came home in the same position ; and the 
stallion won the heat in 4m. 51|s., which is the best two 
miles in harness that ever was trotted except Flora's 4m 
50is. 

The layers of the odds now got alarmed, and 100 to 40 
was laid upon the stallion. In scoring for the second heat, 
Patchen broke just before they reached the stand, and some 
outsider called " Go ! " They went on, believing it to be a 
start ; but, on coming round to the stand again, the judges 
informed them that the word was not given. Thereupon 
Tallman, who was behind, pulled up ; but McMann kept on, 
and jogged round. A great row ensued, in which the 
judges were threatened with summary violence if they did 
not award the race there and then to Flora Temple ; but 
being men of knowledge and firmness, they disregarded all 
this, and declared that no heat at all. They were quite 
right. The officious attempt to give a word by an outsider 
I have often seen, and it is a great nuisance. In the first 
place, it is an insult to the ability and impartiality of the 
gentlemen who have been selected to judge the race. In 
the next place, it is likely to confuse the drivers. There- 
fore, anybody who does it ought to be expelled from the 
course. 

In the second heat, the mare took the lead, and led a 
little at the half-mile in lm. 14is. She then broke and 
lost a little, but trotted fast .on the home-stretch, and got 
to his wheel, when he was broken up by the crowd, who 
pressed upon him with that intent. Flora was three 
lengths in the lead at the score in 2m. 28s. In the second 
mile, he trotted well, but made a couple of little breaks. 
At the head of the stretch, Flora's lead was three lengths, 
but the stallion now began to close with her. She was tired, 
and, in spite of McMann's whip, Patchen came fast and hard 
upon her j and now there was an outrage such as was seldom 



THE TROTTING-UORSE OF AMERICA. 321 

seen upon a race-course. Just as Patchen was getting the 
best of it, a band of men ran out at him, and threw clubs and 
hats in his face. In consequence, he broke, swerved behind 
Flora's sulky, and she was first at the score in 5m. l^s. 

Patchen was then withdrawn, and Flora was declared the 
winner ; but the decision, to my mind, was unsatisfactory. 
If the horse had not been interfered with, it is probable that 
he would have won that second heat. ' It is quite true, that he 
was not interfered with by Flora or by her driver ; but he was 
by her outside backers. Therefore, the judges would have 
been justified, I think", in declaring that there had not been 
a fair race ; that it was out of their power to have a fair 
race ; and that, this being so, the whole affair should end 
there and then in a draw. The best way to discourage 
rioting and roguery upon our race-courses is to take care 
that the guilty parties shall never secure their sole object, 
the plunder. As long as they are permitted to get and hold 
the money, they will care but little for what people say to 
them in the newspapers, or otherwise. 



11 



XL. 



Flora Temple and Patchen again. — A Dishonored Check. — Appeal to aid 
Decision of the Judges. — Flora and Brown Dick. — Flora and Ethan 
Allen. — Flora and Patchen again. — Flora against Dutchman's Time. 

ON the second day of August, in the hottest time of the 
year, and on a very warm, drowsy day, Flora Temple 
and Patchen came together again. It was mile heats, three 
in five, for $500, and seventy-five per cent of the gate- 
money to be divided between them. They both looked well, 
and Flora was the favorite at 100 to 80. The Philadelphia 
squabbles were not yet quite over. McMann held a check 
for $500, which had been put up against his $500 at Phila- 
delphia in the first race there. Since the race, payment of 
it had been stopped; and he now asked the judges to re- 
quire it to be made good before Patchen was allowed to start. 
This was resisted by Waltermire, upon the ground that he 
was not responsible for acts done by Hall of Rochester, who 
had now no interest whatever in the stallion. But, in 
answer to this, James McMann replied, that the match he 
had made and won was made with Tallman, who appeared 
here again with the horse. The judges decided that they 
could not interfere, and I think they were right. It is 
probable James McMann knew that Hall's check was staked 
against his money ; and, if he did not, he waived his right 
to object to it, when he received it as part of the stakes. 
The judges then could not prevent Patchen from starting, 
so far as I can see. Hall's check had been accepted as pay- 
ment by McMann ; and it was not Tallman's fault that it 
was dishonored. But, nevertheless, McMann was fully en- 

322 



THE TROTTING-nOIiSE OF AMERICA. 323 

titled to the money; and it is to be hoped that Hall was 
compelled to pay. After having got $20,000 for the horse, 
which was said to be his price, this stopping of the check 
was small business. 

The race now on hand was not as good as that which 
was witnessed when they came together on the same course 
the first time that year. That was a race, the like of which 
I have never quite seen for speed, obstinacy of contest, and 
close finish. This in August was very fast also ; but the 
mare won with more ease. When they met early in June, 
it was her first race that season ; while Patchen's trots with 
Ethan Allen had served to sharpen up and season him. 
Besides that consideration, there is another. This was her 
fifth race with him that year, and all of them had been very 
fast. Now, about four races with Flora was enough to take 
a little of the fine edge off any horse that ever trotted with 
her, if the pace was strong. It took more to get Patchen 
down completely within her power, than it had ever done 
with any former horse ; but, if the process was slow, it was 
sure, as we shall presently see. In the first, heat of this 
race at the Union, they started well together, after scoring 
four or five times, in which Patchen, as usual, displayed 
great speed on the straight work. On the turn, his inside 
place gave him a little advantage, and the mare made a 
skip. Mc^Iann caught her on the jump ; but he led a 
length and a half at the half-mile pole in lm. lis. This 
lead was maintained all round the lower turn and somewhat 
increased on the stretch. At the draw-gate, James called 
upon the little mare, and she appeared to collect herself for 
one of her grand rushes; but she did not get the right 
stroke, and tangled all up, so that he won in 2m. 23is., and 
she ran over the score a couple of lengths behind him. 

It was now a 100 to 40 on Patchen. He seemed some- 
what distressed, but Ae was a horse that got over his blow- 
ing in an admirable manner. After some scoring, Mc- 
Mann rather caught Tallman napping; and, Flora getting 



324 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

up to one of her rapid bursts of speed, she headed the 
stallion at the score, and got the word to her advantage. 
She seemed determined, now that she was ahead, to keep 
there ; and by very fast and resolute trotting, she dropped 
him behind, so that she led four lengths at the quarter. 
At the half-mile, in lm. lis., he got closer to her, and he 
gained slowly on the lower turn. In the stretch he was 
near enough to her to be dangerous ; and, as she made a 
skip, it looked so. But James caught her again at the in- 
stant of time, and on she came. In the endeavor to col- 
lar her the stallion broke, tired, and Flora won by three 
lengths in 2m. 22is. '^ 

In the third heat the)' got away together at a great rate, 
and the stallion soon broke. He lost four lengths by it. 
On the second quarter they trotted very fast, — about 
thirty-four seconds being the time. At the half-mile, she 
was leading three lengths and a half. On the lower turn, 
he got closer, and they came up the stretch with little day- 
light between ; but before they got home, he broke, and she 
won in 2m. 23-|s., by four lengths. This was very great 
trotting; and though Patchen was surely being defeated, 
and was the worse off the further he went, he certainly 
made a good, game fight for it. In the last heat, Flora led 
all the way, except for a stride or two at the start, and this 
she won in 2m. 25|s. Take away their own race in June, 
and this in August was the best that had ever been wit- 
nessed on the Union Course. Patchen never made such 
another in harness ; and, as he went on with her in her 
customary tour that fall, she took more and more of the 
steel out of him, just as she had formerly done out of 
Princess and all the others that ventured on a long cam- 
paign against her. 

After this race Flora went to Fonda, and beat Brown 
Dick, mile heats, three in five, in harness, in three heats. 
On the 28th of the same month she met Geo. M. Patchen 
at Boston, at the Franklin Course, for a purse of $1,500, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 325 

mile heats, three in five, in harness. The mare won in 
four heats, the second being a dead heat; and the best 
time was 2m. 28ja. On the 15th of September, she was in 
the oak-opening country again, among her friends and 
admirers at Kalamazoo. At that place, on the 15th of 
September, she beat Ethan Allen for the purse of $2,000, 
mile heats, three in five, in harness. Flora won in three 
straight heats, the best of which was the last — 2m. 23s. 

On and about the 24th of September, there was a great 
gathering of turfmen in New York. The four-mile heat 
sweepsidkes then pending to be run on the Fashion Course, 
in which Planet, Congaree, and Daniel Boone were engaged, 
had brought gentlemen here from all over the Union, — 
from Virginia and Maryland and the Carolinas; from 
Alabama, Louisana, and Mississippi ; from Kentucky and 
Tennesee ; and from the great rising States of the North- 
west. That race did not amount to much : for Daniel 
Boone hit himself at exercise, and was unable to start ; and 
Congaree was not in condition ; so the Virginian stable, the 
chief owne- of which was Major Thomas Doswell, a man 
entitled to great respect, obtained a very easy triumph. 

The day before the race was run, I had the pleasure of 
entertaining many of the turfmen at my house, as they 
had come over to the south side of the Island to see Flora 
Temple and Patchen trot two mile heats, in harness, on the 
Centreville Course. The mare was the favorite at about a 
hundred to sixty. Patchen had been resting since their 
trot at Boston ; while Flora had been to Michigan and back, 
and had defeated Ethan Allen. Nevertheless, she was the 
favorite at these long odds, and her condition was the best ; 
yet she was just upon the point of being overmarked by so 
much work and travel. On the day before she had tired at 
her work, and nothing but her wonderful capacity of com- 
ing round quickly made her fit to trot the next day. At the 
start in the first heat, Patchen took the lead; and at the 
half-mile pole, in lm. lis., he was two lengths and a half 



326 THE TliOTTING-IlOBSE OF AMEBIC A. 

ahead of her. She now began to close 'with him, and they 
trotted very finely to the end of the mile. At the score, in 
2m. 23., her head was at his wheel. On the back-stretch 
she got to his head and he broke, whereupon Flora got a 
lead of three lengths. On the lower turn he made another 
break ; but, even after that, trotted so well that Flora did 
not win it easily. They were both whipped on the stretch. 
She won by a couple of lengths in 4m. 55 ]s. 

This was almost five seconds more than she had beaten 
Princess in ; and I conclude that Flora was not at her 
best. There was apparently nothing in the weather or the 
track to cause her to require more time ; and yet she had to 
be whipped to get the second mile out of her in 2m. 32]. ; 
but one can never tell precisely what fast time depends 
upon, and this makes time an uncertain test. It could not 
have been the first mile in 2m. 23s. that made them quit in 
the second ; for they had both gone a first mile as fast in a 
two-mile heat, and had not quit in the second mile. My 
opinion is, that neither of them was quite up to the mark 
that day ; and I give it here, because I attribute her defeat 
in the attempt to beat Dutchman's time, three days after- 
wards, to the fact that she was stale and not at her best. 
In this two-mile race with Patchen, she won the second 
heat in 5m. 

On the 27th, she was brought out again in a match 
against time for $500 a side, to beat Dutchman's three- 
mile time under saddle. This was 7m. 32^s. ; the four- 
mile running-time of Fashion. It is unnecessary to say 
much about Dutchman's time here, except to state that it 
was not all he was capable of, by any means. I have 
said, in a previous chapter, that I could have ridden him 
that day ever so much better than 7m. 30s., — from 7m. 
26s., to 7m. 28s. ; therefore, I should not consider it a very 
wonderful thing to have a horse come out and beat 7m. 
32 is. in harness. It is true that no horse has ever done it ; 
but I have driven three that I consider were quite capable 



THE TROTTING-HOBSE OF AMERICA. 327 

of doing it, and one of them is now. I allude to Dexter, 
who, in my opinion, would stand a good chance to beat it, 
and pull a wagon. The others were Flora Temple and 
General Butler. Patchen could perhaps have done it when 
he was at his best ; and I have no doubt John Morgan 
could. To accomplish this feat, a horse must be fast and 
stout, and his or her condition must be as near perfect as 
may be. He must have a great deal of speed ; for no horse 
can stay three miles except by keeping well within himself. 
He must be stout and honest; for a weak-constitutioned or 
faint-hearted one will be sure to quit before he has "finished 
the job. He must be about the best pitch of condition ; for, 
if defective at all in this, the trial would be more hope- 
less than if he was lacking in one of the other particulars. 
Now, we knew that Flora had plenty of speed, and good 
bottom ; but, considering her race witli Patchen three days 
before, it was not probable that she was at or near her best 
pitch of condition ; but a great many people never took that 
into consideration at all, and she was backed at two to one. 
James McMann drove her. I was one of the judges. At 
the start she went off at good speed, but was not altogether 
as steady as her backers might have wished ; for she broke 
twice in the first half-mile, which was trotted in lm. 14 \ s. 
The first mile was made in 2m. 30^s., which was a winning 
rate, with a second and a half to spare. The pace was now 
forced too much. She trotted the next half-mile at the 
rate of 2m. 25s. to the mile, and the whole mile was 2m. 
27|s. This gave her a large margin for the third mile, but 
left her with little or nothing to do it with. She had 
trotted the two miles in 4m. 57^s., and now she had only to 
beat 2m. 35s. in the last mile to win ; but this she could not 
do. She broke badly in the first part of the third mile, and 
her time in it was 2m. 36^-s. Her whole time was 7m. 
So^s. It was now mooted whether she could start again 
that day, and we decided that she could ; but this is not to 
be taken as a general precedent. I am now satisfied that 



328 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

when there is a race against time, a failure in one trial 
heats the horse, unless it has heen stipulated that there 
shall he more than one. Flora tried again, hut was 7m. 
A3hs. in the second trial. It was urged, that as the Cen- 
terville Course was more than a mile, Flora should he al- 
lowed the excess three times over, which might have 
Drought her within the time ; hut we held that we could not 
allow it to her. This question was debated for some time, 
and was finally left to Mr. Wilkes, who decided that we 
had not been in error, — that as the backer of Flora took 
the track for a mile when he made the match, selected the 
Centreville to trot on, he could not be allowed for its over- 
measure. 



XLI. 

Flora Temple and George M. Patchen on a Tour. — Flora and Widow Ma* 
chree. — Description of Widow Machree. — Flora and Princess again. — 
Flora and John Morgan. — Breeding of John Morgan. — Description of 
him. 

AFTER the failure of Flora to beat Dutchman's time, 
_ she started out upon a tour with George M. Patchen, 
upon much the same principles as those which controlled in 
her campaign with Princess. They were at Elmira on the 
3d of October, and, according to the published programme, 
trotted for a purse of $2,000 ; but, if anybody paid it, a 
fool and his money then parted, for the mare won in three 
heats, and the best time was 2m. 30s. It seems probable 
that Tallman and the owner of the stallion had come to 
the conviction that he could not beat Flora that sea- 
son, and had made up their minds to earn his share of 
the gate-money as easily as might be. On the 17th, they 
were at Watertown ; and here there was a good race between 
them. The track was heavy. In the first heat, Flora led 
all the way by two lengths, and won in 2m. 28s. In the 
second heat they went away together, and she had a little 
lead for three-quaters of a mile. But the stallion was close 
to her; and he made it so hot on the homestretch that she 
broke, and he won in 2m. 26s. But the little mare was 
not to be beaten in the race, for she won the third and 
fourth heats in 2m. 26s., 2m. 25s. 

They passed on to Rochester, and there had another race 
of four heats. The stallion won the first, and the mare se- 
cured the other three. The time was 2m. 29s., 2m. 29s. 

329 



330 TEE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

2m. 28s., 2m. 30s. On the 27th of October they were at 
Geneva, and trotted on a heavy course. Flora won the first 
heat in 2m. 32s. In the second, she was defeated in 2m. 
28s. In the third, she beat the stallion in 2m. 29s. But 
in the fourth heat she was distanced. On the 31st, they 
reached Corning ; and there the mare won in three heats, 
with 2m. 31s. the best, the track being very heavy. 

That was the last time that Flora and Patchen trotted 
together, I believe. There was much talk the following 
spring about matching them, and one or two meetings were 
held at the office of " The Spirit of the Times," for the 
purpose of coming to some definite agreement. But they 
could not come to terms. Mr. Waltermire and Tallman 
declared that McMann was afraid to trot the mare against 
Patchen any more. But the truth is, that James was 
quietly laying back to entice them into an offer to trot for 
a large amount of money, and finally offered to trot Flora 
against him any race they could name in harness or to 
wagon, for a large amount. But by this time Mr. Walter- 
mire had made up his mind to let Patchen go to the stud. 
I do not think that he could have balanced the books with 
her if he had tried again ; for events afterwards showed that 
she was quite as good as ever, if not better. But he had 
stood a longer and stouter struggle with her than any other 
trotter had done. He beat her more heats than any other 
horse ; and most of the heats in which she beat him were 
very fast and close. He met her, too, 'at the golden prime 
of her life, when she had just reached the full maturity of 
her extraordinary power. 

When every thing is considered, I am under the impres- 
sion that Patchen was the best horse that Flora Temple 
ever contended with, and that, therefore, their names must 
go down linked together as those of the best mare and the 
best stallion that have yet appeared. On the other hand, 
James McMann has a leaning to the opinion that the very 
best horse she ever met was the Chestnut from Kentucky, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 331 

first called Medoc, and afterwards John Morgan. Now, it 
is true, as we shall presentty see, that he made her put 
forth all her powers to beat him, especially at two-mile 
heats. But Patchen did this more than once, and actually 
beat her two-mile heats as well. Moreover, it did him no 
perceptible harm ; for he was still very fast and very stout 
when he was trained again to trot with General Butler, 
after having been at the stud : while, as regards John Mor- 
gan, the race appeared to upset him. It " cooked his mut- 
ton," as the saj'ing is, and he never was as good again. 
With this, which Patchen well deserved, I leave him. 

But Flora's work in 1860 was not ended when she had 
done with Patchen. James McMann would make hay when 
the sun did not shine as well as when it did ; and so, a 
purse being offered down at Danbury, in Connecticut, on 
the 15th of November, he took Flora there to trot for it. 
The attachment of James to Flora was very great. He 
gloried in her, and often reproved the boys for giving her 
nick-names, other than the one he fondly applied to her 
which was Dolly ; but it must be confessed that he kept 
her busy, and at it early and late. Her opponent at Dan- 
bury was the Widow Machree, a mare that bade fair at one 
time to win a place only second to that of Flora herself, 
and would have done it, in my opinion, if her legs had been 
as good as her pluck and her constitution were. The 
Widow was a low, wiry chestnut, with all the hard, con- 
densed quality of a thoroughbred. She had great speed, 
she was capital before a wagon, she was as game a mare as 
any that I remember ; but she was light in the bone below 
the knee, and her fore legs went early. The truth is, how- 
ever, that, with proper care and judicious management, they 
might have lasted a good deal longer. She was one of the 
daughters of that famous horse American Star, of whom I 
have spoken in prior chapters. 

At Danbury, the mud was deep and heavy, and the 
weather bleak and cold, as it commonly is in New 



332 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

England in the middle of November. Flora Temple and 
Widow Macliree trotted a tremendous race. The former 
won it in three heats, and the fastest was 2m. 30s. ; the 
third was 2m. 33s. This, in the state of the ground and 
the weather, was justly considered amazing. The Widow 
is no longer on the course, but has been bred to Hamble- 
tonian, by whom she has had three sons, all said to be fine 
colts. It is the same cross that produced Dexter ; and, in 
my judgment, there is none better. The stallion gives the 
size and bone, which many of the Star mares somewhat 
lack ; while they supply a style of action that cannot be sur- 
passed, and an amount of pluck and gameness that never 
was exceeded. 

In the year 1861, Flora made her first appearance, on the 
21st of May, at the Fashion Course. Her opponent was 
the mare Princess, who had been for some time in retire- 
ment. She was now thought to be in fine condition, and 
had trotted so well in private, that many thought she would 
stand a good chance to defeat Flora, who had just come up 
from Charles Lloyd's, in Jersey. The Fashion Course had 
lately come under control of a new club, composed of such 
gentlemen as Mr. Pettee, Mr. Genet, Shephard F. Knapp, 
Morgan L. Mott, etc. The club offered a purse of $500, 
mile heats, three in five, to wagon, for Flora and Princess. 
The latter went wrong just before the race, being sore in 
the fore-feet. Flora won in three heats, and the time was 
slow. 

It now seemed difficult for Flora to get further engage- 
ments ; but at length a new candidate for the highest hon- 
ors of the turf was brought on from the West to trot against 
her. It was the chestnut-gelding Medoc, or John Morgan, 
a Kentucky horse, and, I think, the best trotter that has yet 
been produced there. He was the result of a cross between 
a trotting-stallion and a thoroughbred, or nearly thorough- 
bred, mare. His sire was Pilot, jun., a son of old Pilot the 
pacer. His dam was by the race-horse Medoc, who, being 



THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 333 

a son of American Eclipse, inherited the Messenger blood 
through the famous Miller's Damsel. This hitter was out 
of an imported mare by Pot-8-os, who was the best son of 
English Eclipse, and one of the fastest and stoutest running- 
horses that ever was trained. 

John Morgan was a golden chestnut, with a white foot 
and a blaze in the face. He was sixteen hands high, a 
powerful horse, with great bone, and fine, bold action. He 
was worked, and worked hard, even when two years old ; and 
at four he was put through such a preparation as his owner, 
Mr. Bradley, gave to the running-horses. In my opinion, 
his early and severe handling was a great evil. It did not 
prevent him from displaying wonderful speed and bottom ; 
but it cut his career very short, to what it might otherwise 
have been. If this horse had not been trained and trotted 
until he was four or five years old, he might have gone on 
improving so as to beat Flora herself. He was a very stout 
horse, as well as very fast. No distance seemed too long 
for him. He was trained and driven in Kentucky by his 
owner, who had never trained and driven any other trotting- 
horse. 

After having won two and three mile heats in Kentucky, 
he was sold to Mr. George Bockius and James Turner, for 
$G,000 or $7,000. They brought him to New York, and 
matched him to trot three races against Flora ; mile heats 
three in five, two-mile heats, and three-mile heats, in har- 
ness. The races were trotted on the Centreville Course, 
the first, mile heats, three in five, was on the 13th of June. 
Very few thought that he could beat Flora at mile heats, 
and the bettting was 100 to 20 on her before the start. Still 
his fine, bold action, as he came up the home-stretch, seem- 
ingly with the power of a locomotive, greatly impressed the 
gentlemen who were present. Turner drove him, and the 
horse was a little too powerful for him. He pulled strong, . 
and had run away once or twice. Turner had been sick ; 
and, though a man of great natural courage, he was a little 
nervous. 



334 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

In the first heat they went away level, and the quarter 
was trotted in 34s., Flora having a lead of two lengths. 
She did not increase her lead, and the time at the half-mile 
pole was lm. l(Hs. He now drew towards her, and at the 
head of the stretch was at her wheel. A good race home 
followed ; and, if Turner had been able to keep up his pull, it 
would have been a near thing. The chestnut broke inside 
the draw-gate, but caught his trot well ; and Flora only beat 
him a length and a half in 2m. 24 ^s. 

In scoring for the next heat, Flora came up behind several 
times, and finally the gelding threw one of his shoes. It 
was replaced ; but, when they got the word, he made a wild 
break just as he neared the place where he threw it, and 
Flora took a lead of four or five lengths. He broke again 
on the back-stretch, and the mare won the heat with ease in 
2m. 26s. The third heat was very much like the second. 
Turner was tired, and could not stand the pull of the horse. 
His gait was so bold and his stroke so long, that he could 
not keep up to it, without putting considerable weight on 
the bit. He broke again soon after they got the word, and 
lost ground that he could never make up. She won the 
heat in 2m. 28-|s. The friends of John Morgan were some- 
what disappointed, but they still thought that he would do 
better on another occasion. In this they were quite right ; 
for, as we shall presently see, he made her trot the best 
two-mile race in harness that she, or any other horse, aver 
made. 



XLII. 

Flora Temple and John Morgan. — The Fastest Two-mile Eace that had 
been trotted. — Remarks upon the Race. — The Three-mile-Heat Race. 
— Flora against Ethan Allen and a Running-Mate. — Flora before Gen. 
Grant. — The Widow Machree. 

ON the lltli of June, Flora Temple and John Morgan 
had their second meeting at the Centreville Course, to 
trot two-mile heats in harness. It was a most beautiful 
day, warm and bright, with the atmosphere of that genial 
and active sort that the lungs and chest seem to expand at 
its approach to take plenty in. The attendance was not as 
large as it would have been if the people had known what 
a contest was about to take place ; for, in all Flora's career, 
she never made quite such another race as she was com- 
pelled to do on this occasion. When she appeared upon the 
course, she looked a little thinner than usual ; and she speed- 
ily warmed up to a little damp sweat upon the neck. It 
was understood that for a day or two she had not been 
feeding as greedily as she usually did. In common, she was 
a very voracious feeder. This might have led to the suppo- 
sition that she was just a little over-marked ; but her eye 
was bright, her coat sleek and glossy, and her nostril ex- 
panded like the mouth of a trumpet. Therefore I concluded 
that she had just reached the finest condition to which she 
could, in all probability, attain. 

It is well known to horsemen who are close observers, 
that, though a horse cannot make a great race when de- 
cidedly off the feed, some of the finest efforts that ever 
were made, and some of the greatest successes that ever were 
won, came just as the horse was beginning to get dainty, 

335 



336 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

and to pick and nibble at the oats. This, I have no doubt, 
was the case with Flora. John Morgan looked all the 
better for his race at mile heats ; and as he came up the 
home-stretch, in warming up, it was with a boldness and 
power of stroke that seemed to indicate uncommon confi- 
dence and resolution. There was but little betting, and that 
little was at three to one on Flora Temple. The horse was 
driven by Turner, who, not from any lack of skill, but for 
want of bodily strength, was likely to give out before the 
trotter did. The style of the horse was of that sort which 
requires a good strong pull to support him, especially when 
he tried to keep up his great stroke in going round the turns. 
If he could have had a chance at Flora, two miles straight 
away, on a good dirt-road, it is my belief he would have 
beaten her. 

In the first heat, they went away well together ; but he 
seemed to hang on the turn, while she made one of her 
electric rushes, and took the pole from him. She went on 
to the half-mile, with a lead of two lengths, in lm. 12-|-s. 
The chestnut began to close with her on the lower turn ; and, 
at the head of the stretch, he was at her wheel. Here he 
lay coming up the stretch, on which he made a little skip, 
but caught well. The mile was trotted in 2m. 27s., the 
mare being a length ahead at the score. Again, in round- 
ing this upper turn, he lost some ground, but on the back- 
stretch made it up, and placed his head at her wheel. On 
the lower turn, he got to her quarters ; but, when they had 
swung into the home-stretch, her inside place brought her a 
length ahead of him. Turner now called upon him ; and, 
the work being straight ahead, he answered with such an 
effort that he gained upon her inch by inch. It was a very 
fine spectacle. At the distance he had got to her head, and 
it looked as though he would win it. But the little mare 
was not yet all out. McMann shook the whip over her ; and, 
the crowd setting up a shout, she made a desperate effort, 
and, getting her nose in front of him again, she managed to 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 337 

keep it there in spite of all his efforts, and won by a head. 
It was one of the finest finishes that I remember to have 
seen, when the big horse began to out-trot her up the stretch, 
and she, making a grand rally as she saw his smoking 
nostril, succeeded in just beating him out. The time was 
4m. 55^s. 

Between the heats they both showed that their condition 
was good, and that they were good-winded ones. In the 
second heat they started even ; but Flora was the quickest 
beginner, and began to draw ahead at the turn. Turner, 
indeed, was afraid to let his horse out at first, for fear that 
he might break. The little mare went on until she was 
three lengths ahead of him ; but when he got well settled into 
his stroke, on the back-stretch, he began to overhaul her. 
At the half-mile, in lm. 12is., he was an open length 
behind her, and at the head of the stretch had shut up the 
daylight. The first mile was 2m. 26s., Flora leading a 
length and a half. He lost a little on the turn, as usual ; 
but on the back-stretch- he trotted in magnificent style, and 
showed a truly great rate of speed for the sixth quarter of 
a two-mile heat. At the half-mile pole, he was at her quar- 
ters, and his head reached her flank. McMann set up a yell 
at her, or perhaps at him, and he broke. But he caught in 
fine style, and, losing but little, dashed on after her. At 
the head of the stretch she led a length ; but now the chest- 
nut came on, and made another resolute and most determined 
effort to get the heat. He gained upon her inch by inch, 
until at the distance she was but a neck in front. McMann 
put the whip on to Miss Flora, and Turner held John Mor- 
gan to his brush with all his might. But it lasted a little 
too long. He broke close at home, and she won the heat in 
4m. 52^s. 

When the heats are put together, it will be found that 
this was the fastest two-mile race in harness that ever was 
trotted; and it shows conclusively that John Morgan was a 
tremendous horse. He had not had that gradual, patient 

22 



338 THE TROTTING-HOESE OF AMERICA. 

development which I contend is best for a trotter, if not 
absolutely necessary to make a first-rate one.- Instead of 
that, he had been knocked about at tv, T o years old, and at 
four was put through a preparation like that which running- 
horses receive, by a man who was notorious as a hard worker. 
Yet, as we have seen, he compelled Flora to do a greater 
thing in the beating of him than she had been called upon 
to perform in the conquering of Princess and George M. 
Patchen. He only lost the race, in my opinion, because 
Flora was a quicker beginner than he was, and her driver 
had recourse to the cunning tactics of rushing off with her 
so as to get the pole, and then " waiting in front." I think 
John Morgan should have forced the pace more in the first 
heat, after he got well into his stroke. Both the heats were 
so close at the finish, that a very little change would have 
made the result different ; and in both heats he showed the 
most speed in the last quarter of a mile. In the first, 
she was a length ahead of him when they entered that 
quarter, and only beat him out by a head. His reputation 
for stoutness was very great ; and, if he had forced Flora more 
in the mile and three-quarters preceding, he might have 
lasted the longest, and so have won it. Altogether, it was a 
very extraordinary trot. 

On the 18th, they met again, at three-mile heats, and the 
odds were 100 to 40 on the mare. The reputation of John 
Morgan as a three-mile horse had been very great ; but then 
it was to be remembered that he had not before encountered 
any trotter that could carry him at any thing like the rate of 
Flora Temple. Moreover, we have seen that she was such a 
thorough campaigner, that no horse had been found able to 
keep at the same relative place with her in a series of races 
as he began with. Lancet, Princess, and Patchen had all 
proved this fact, that, the further they pursued their contest 
with her, the easier they were defeated. John Morgan, 
great horse and good stayer as he was, proved no exception, 
and was the last of her illustrious victims. The two-mile 



THE TROTTWG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 339 

race had taken a great deal out of hiin. He was not at his 
best on the day of the three-mile race ; and, what is more, he 
never again came back to it. 

At the start, he had the inside, but broke, and she took 
the pole. The first mile was trotted in 2m. 29s., the mare 
being a length ahead at the end of it. On the turn, she in- 
creased her lead ; but, on the back-stretch, he got to her 
quarters.' She finished the second mile, which was trotted 
in 2m. 27s., with him at her quarters, and on the turn he 
got to her head. They went neck-and-neck for a short 
time, and then the chestnut broke ; but Turner caught him, 
and Flora soon after broke. While she was up he took the 
lead, and this was the first time he had ever obtained it in 
their races. But at the half-mile pole she was with him 
again, and able to make a stout struggle for victory, while 
his powder was burned out. He died away to nothing 
after she passed him, and Flora actually walked in, — time 
7m. 47s. I have no doubt that he hit himself in the last 
half-mile, for he broke three or four times in coming up the 
home-stretch. He had always had a strong liability to hit 
himself from over action; and, after his races with her, it 
got to be a good deal stronger. She won the second heat 
of the three-mile race in 7m. 48s. 

He was afterwards matched with her again, but hit him- 
self in his work and paid forfeit. I think, that, in John 
Morgan, the material out of which one of the finest trotters 
that our country ever produced might have been made was 
partly ruined by overwork at an early age. It is quite true 
that the horse's power and breeding, and Bradley's forcing- 
system, produced a wonder ; but it was a marvel of very 
short duration to what we might have witnessed if he had 
been handled as Flora Temple and Dexter were in their 
early years. 

It now appeared to be absolutely certain that there was 
not a horse in the country who could contend with Flora, on 
even terms, with any hope of success. She was the mis- 



340 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

tress of them all. Therefore it seemed to be probable that 
she would get a period of repose. But, though one horse 
could not beat her, two might ; and Joel Holkam, who had 
control of Ethan Allen, had found, that, assisted by a run- 
ning-mate, he could trot in double harness at an immense 
rate of speed. Flora met Ethan Allen and his running- 
mate Socks for the first time on the Union Course, July 
15. Elora went to a wagon. 

I shall not describe these races at any length, because I 
do not consider them trotting-races ; and I have my doubts 
whether the system of training a horse to trot by means of 
having a runner hitched up with him to pull the weight is 
a good one. I know that by such means some moderate 
horses may be made to do what appears to be a very re- 
markable feat; and this makes me think that the system 
may be deceptive and mischievous. The truth seems to 
be, that, in that way of going, it is the running-horse that 
furnishes the moving-power. The trotter is almost as 
literally pulled along as the man who drives and the wagon 
are. The team beat Flora the first race in three heats, — 2m. 
22|s., 2m. 22s., 2m. 23|s. But inasmuch as the team 
only beat the mare by a short length, in 2m. 22s., it appears 
that she never made a winning-heat to wagon as good as 
she showed then. On the 25th, they met again, on the 
Eashion Course, Flora in harness. The team won the first 
heat in 2m. 2l£s., and was distanced in the second heat, 
because Ethan, as well as Socks, ran for more than half a 
mile. A viler and more disgraceful transaction was never 
witnessed than this affair ; and it is greatly to be regretted 
that the judges did not declare the bets off, and so defeat 
the ends of the promoters. 

On the 8th of August, they met again on the Union 
Course ; and this time the team was driven by a man who 
never threw a race, in my judgment, — the late lamented 
Horace Jones, who was drowned in the Delaware River. 
The consequence was, that they won easily in three heats, — 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 341 

2m. 24fs., 2m. 22s., 2m. 22£s. Once more they met, 
and this time Joel Holkam drove them himself. They 
won again in three heats, and in the fastest equ. tiled Flora 
Temple's time in harness at Kalamazoo, — 2m. 19|s. She 
was only defeated by a head in this fast heat. 

After this, Flora was seized by some officious persons, 
and an attempt was made to confiscate her ; but the Gov- 
ernment ordered her to be restored to Mr. McDonald, and, 
when she was given up to him, he took her to Baltimore. 
There she remaind until his death. She was then pur- 
chased by Mr. A. Welsh, a gentleman of wealth, residing 
at Chestnut Hills, Philadelphia. She was again put in 
work ; and it created a great sensation when she was en- 
tered in two purses on the Fashion Course, in the name of 
Mr. George Wilkes. 

When these entries were made, that was done which 
ought to have been done before. She was sent to McMann 
again. If James had had her from the first day that she 
was put to work again, and had gone at her with his cau- 
tious, gradual method, it is not unlikely that she would 
have stood a preparation, and trotted those races among 
horses of a generation that was foaled after her name was 
great. The last time Flora appeared on a public occasion 
was when Gen. Grant reviewed the great trotters at the 
Dubois track. She showed well on that day ; but, soon after, 
her hind legs filled, and she had to be let up. If she had 
been trained on in 1862 and the following years, instead of 
laying idle so long, she might, perhaps, have continued to 
improve. Her speed had come to her gradually; and 
though it may be said she was then too old to get any bet- 
ter, I am unable to perceive that she must necessarily have 
reached her best in the fall of 1861, when she last trotted. 
She had certainly been gaining a little up to that time ; 
and why should we conclude that she had then ceased to 
gain ? Her constitution was wonderfully good. She was 
a younger mare in the fall of 1861, in regard to health and 



342 THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 

vigor, than thousands who had not numbered half her 
years. 

I have previously stated that the Widow Maohree was 
a speedy mare and an all-day trotter; and, as I have always 
considered her among the most reliable and gamest trotting- 
horses that I had ever driven, I will give a sketch of her 
performances while in my stable and under my observation. 
She was first called Mary Iloyt. In the spring of 1859, 
she was purchased by Capt. Isaiah Rynders of New York, 
of James W. Hoyt of Middle town, Orange County. After 
driving her on the road a short time, he matched her 
against John J. Kelly's bay mare, to trot two miles and 
repeat, to wagons, over the Union Course, in the month of 
August following, for $1,700. Her name was then changed 
from Mary Hoyt to Widow Maehree. After the match 
was made, Mr. Kelly proposed to make it pay or play ; 
which was accepted, and the money put up. A considerable 
amount was betted the same way before the race came off. 
Horace Jones, Alderman Compton, and others, backed the 
Kelly mare ; Capt. Rynders backed the Widow. The 
Widow was sent to my stable to be trained for the race. 

I knew nothing of her qualities, except that I had heard 
she was a good, game mare ; and the captain knew about as 
much as I did. After I had worked her about three weeks, 
we gave her a trial to a wagon, a mile and repeat. I did 
not drive her to the top of her speed the first mile ; but I 
found I was behind a trotter of no ordinary capacity, and 
one that did not give back in the home-stretch. The second 
mile she was timed, and made 2.3-1; which was much 
better than we expected. We did not time her again until 
within a week before the race. We gave her the trial a 
week before the race, two miles to a wagon. 

She made the first mile in 2.35 ; and then I urged her a 
little more, and she came round the second mile in 2.33 : so 
I was informed by Mr. Rynders, who held the watch. I 
could have driven her faster than that j but this was fast 



THE TROTTIXG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 343 

enough to win the match without much trouble. The race 
came off at the appointed time ; but it was not much of a con- 
test, as the bay mare was not in good fix. 

"We got the word. I took the lead; and the bay mare 
n ver got alongside of me after we went a hundred yards : 
in fact, the gait was nothing more than a good exercise for 
the Widow. I think the time was 5.30. After the two- 
mile race, the Widow was left in my charge. She had two 
or three forfeits paid to her. I worked her moderately, and 
she grew fleshy very quick; being at all times a good 
feeder. 

In the fall following the race in August, I entered the 
Widow Machree and Frank Temple in a double-team 
trotting-race. The first time I hooked up the Widow and 
Frank Temple together, I drove round the Union Course 
inside of 2.40. I had entered the Widow for a purse that 
was offered to be trotted the day after the race with the 
double teams at Boston. The day before the race, I put 
them on board the steamer. We had a stormy night ; and 
the horses got wet, and took cold. Frank Temple was a 
little off his feed next day: not so with the Widow; she 
was a little stiff, but took her feed eagerly. 

We took the cars early in the morning, and arrived at 
Boston in good time. Three teams put in their appear- 
ance, — A. Carpenter's, William Whelan's, and my own. I 
took the lead, and kept it easily, and could have distanced 
the other teams. 

I noticed in this heat that Frank Temple did not act in 
his usual prompt and vigorous style ; and this I told to 
Capt. Eynders. Thereupon he cautioned his friends not to 
bet long odds. They had been offering ten to one. In the 
second heat I again took the lead without much trouble. 
Frank, however, tired after going half a mile, and the 
Widow had to do all the work herself in the last quarter ; 
but we won the heat. Frank Temple was evidently out of 
ix, and showed distress. Still I thought we should manage 



344 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

to pull through ; for the Widow was great at a desperate 
pinch, and Frank himself was a very gallant little horse. 
Capt. lenders, however, feared defeat, as Carpenter's team 
seemed very fresh and well. 

In the third heat, I got a very bad start, being two 
lengths behind. Carpenter's team, Telemachus and Nellie 
Holcomb, took the lead, and finally won the race. But the 
unflinching game and bottom of the Widow in the losing 
heats, the third, fourth, and fifth, created great admiration, 
and made her a host of friends. As for Frank Temple, he 
did all he could in his condition ; and neither man nor 
horse can do more. The time of the five heats was 2.55, 
2.50£, 2.42, 2.44^, 2.44. Whelan's team was distanced in 
the third heat. 

When we took the team to their stable that night, I 
thought neither of them would be able to trot again that 
year. In the morning, I found the Widow laying down 
and eating hay. She was so stiff that she could not get up 
without our help. We thought she had trotted her last 
race; and the captain said he would sell her for $500 ; but, 
when she was on her feet, she went at her oats, and cleaned 
the manger, while we rubbed her fore legs with warm 
lotions. After this she was walked for an hour. 

The proprietor of the course said that the people would 
be greatly disappointed if she did not start in the race in 
the afternoon, and requested that she might be led by the 
stand that her unfitness might be seen. When the time 
for the race came, I took her to the track, and drove her 
past the stand in a sulky. She could hardly put one foot 
before the other. The other horses, Draco, Somerville, 
Lad}' Spurr, and Ephraim Smooth appeared. I had jogged 
the mare round, and was about to take her off, when I 
noticed that she pricked up her ears at sight of the other 
horses, and acted as though she'd warm up and get limber. 
I then told the captain that I thought she might do better 
than we expected if started. He said I was crazy, but 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMER1JA. 345 

finally told me to do as I pleased, adding that lie knew she 
would be distanced in the first heat. For all that, I re- 
solved to start her ; and, as the day was cold and windy, I 
jogged her round again. 

The first heat was won by Draco in 2.38^ ; but I was 
second, although I had been run into by Ephraim Smooth, 
whose wheel took the hair off one of the mare's legs. The 
second heat was won by Draco in 2.41 £, and I was second 
again, Lady Spurr and Ephraim Smooth both distanced. 
The latter ran into the mare, upset her sulky and herself, 
and she fell with her neck over Dan Mace's body. Ephraim 
also spilt his own driver, and ran off with the sulky upside 
down. When Mace's sulky was upset, I was close behind 
him, and lost nearly a hundred yards. I had to call upon 
the Widow to get inside the distance ; and the way she 
answered let me know that her dead-game quality had tri- 
umphed over her infirmity, and that she was all the time 
" a-coming." I sent her along, and got second place. 

Between the heats she was blanketted close and kept 
moving, except while her legs were being rubbed with 
lotion. In the third heat, we got off well ; and Draco and 
the Widow went neck-and-neck to the quarter. The mare 
then began to show in front : but Holcomb let the stallion 
break and ease, himself by a few jumps; and this expedient, 
being several times repeated, Draco was ahead in turning 
into the stretch. But the steady stroke of the mare over- 
hauled him at the distance ; and, in spite of another break 
and run, she beat him out by a neck in 2n* 39|s. The 
stallion was second, and Somerville third. 

In the fourth heat, I had the pole, which was a great 
advantage, as it was a half-mile track. The mare took the 
lead, and kept it, although Draco made a good game strug- 
gle. The time was 2m. 34£s. 

In the fifth heat, Draco made a desperate race of it for 
half a mile, hanging at the mare's wheel all the wa^ . It 
was at the rate of about 2m. 30s. ; but after that he fell off, 



346 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

and I took the "Widow in hand. She could have trotted out 
in 2m. 30s. if there had been any thing to force her. As 
it was, the time was 2m. 39s. 

In these five heats, the "Widow Machree never broke. 
Considering her arduous race of the day before, and the 
state of her legs when we brought her to the course, it was 
one of the most splendid exhibitions of unflinching game 
and strong bottom that was ever seen. The Widow's pluck 
was always so good, that she was counted a real " do or die n 
mare. That race at Boston was the last she trotted with 
me. 



XLIII. 

The King of the Trotters, Dexter. — Description and breeding of him. — His 
Purchase by Mr. George Alley. — His History prior to his coming to me. — 
His First and Second Trials. — Dexter's First Race. — He beats Stonewall 
Jackson, Lady Collins, and Gen. Grant. — Dexter and Doty's Mare. — 
Dexter, Shark, and Lady Shannon. — Dexter, Shark, and Hambletonian. — 
Dexter hits himself, and is drawn. — Evil of much Scoring. — Dexter's Trial 
in November, 2m. 23£s. 

AT one time it was my intention to have said nothing 
about any horse that was still upon the turf; and, if 
I had carried that resolution out, it would have shut out any 
remarks concerning the prime- favorite of my latter day, 
Dexter : but so many gentlemen have urged, and, indeed, 
demanded, that I should give a sketch of so famous a horse, 
that I finally determined to comply. Dexter is a brown 
gelding, very rich in color, with four white legs, and a blaze 
in the face. He is fifteen hands and an inch high, and is 
what we call " a big-little one." He is long for his inches, 
deep through the heart, and very powerful in the stifles, 
loins, and quarters. He has a good head, neck, and eye, 
capital oblique shoulders, and good legs and feet. There is 
all over him a very resolute and workmanlike look, and his 
quality does not at all belie it. This horse was bred by Mr. 
Jonathan Hawkins of Montgomery, Orange County, N.Y. 
He was got by Hambletonian out of a little black mare 
by American Star, and she was out of Shark's dam. The 
pedigree of the latter is not known ; but this much is certain, 
that she was a good road-mare, of great bottom, and with 
a very sound, tough constitution. She lived to be very old. 
At one time a story was got up to the effect that Dexter 

347 



348 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

was got by Harry Clay, but there was no truth in it. He 
was foaled in 1858, and was not held in much favor for some 
time. His white legs and the blaze set people against him. 
I have no doubt the old saw, — 

" One white leg, inspect him ; 
Two white legs, reject him ; 
Three white legs, sell him to jour foes ; 
Four white legs, feed him to the crows ! " — 

was often quoted by people who saw this colt in the field at 
Mr. Hawkins's. In the June of 1862, Mr. George Alley went 
up to Orange County to look at him. That gentleman has 
long been known as one of the best and most sagacious 
judges of trotting-horses to be found among the merchants 
and business men of New York. He had heard of this colt 
from Mr James Jacks, another very good judge of a trotter 
among our business men. At that time the colt was not 
broken. They had had harness on him two or three times 
the preceding winter ; but he had slipped on the ice, and hurt 
one of his-hind legs, so that they did not persevere with 
him. At that time, too, he had never had any grain fed to 
him : his feed had been hay and grass from the time he 
was weaned. 

Mr. Alley found him in one of Mr. Hawkins's fields ; and, 
bsing full of grass, he did not show well when started up and 
made to trot ; but afterwards they drove him out into the 
road, and there sent him backwards and forwards, loose. 
Mr. Alley, and Mr. Felter who was with him, then perceived 
that the action of the four-year-old was of the squarest and 
finest character. The former purchased him for $400, and 
had him sent down to his place at New Rochelle. Here he 
bitted and drove him, until he left home in the fall to go to 
Philadelphia for a short time. He then sent the colt to 
John Mingo, the breaker, at Flushing j and with John he 
remained about two months. 



THE TROTTING-nORSE OF AMERICA. 349 

Mr. Alley then had him home again, and drove him him- 
self until the roads got bad. He still kept him at New 
Itochelle, intending to drive him to a sleigh when the snow 
fell ; but there was no sleighing that winter until February, 
and the very first day that Dexter was hitched to a sleigh 
an accident befel him. He has never had any vicious ways ; 
but he has always been a high-strung, nervous, determined 
horse. No sooner did he come with the sleigh on to a bare 
piece of ground, than he made a jump (he jumps like a 
cat), and the whiffletree broke, the neck-yoke came off the 
pole, and he got loose. Mr. Alley then sent him here, not 
to me, but to Pelham John, who had him in hand two 
months. 

That spring Mr. Alley moved to Islip, and drove Dexter 
again. In June he had him to a Boston wagon with C 
springs. It was only meant to carry one, but Mr. AJley 
had a friend in with him. Dexter made a shying jump 
away from some pea-straw that lay in a heap near the road, 
the wagon slewed, the gentlemen fell out, Dexter ran home 
to his stable. That fall, in the month of September, he 
being then five years old, Dexter was sent to me to be 
trained a little. After a short time, I sent him a trial to a 
wagon in 2m. 42s. This was the first trial he ever had. In 
a week after that we tried him a mile in harness, and he 
went in 2m. 31 \%. Here was indication of great speed 
when it should be developed, in course of time ; and, as he 
trotted the last halves of these miles as fast as he did the 
first, I set him down at once as possessed of bottom worthy 
of his breeding. Mr. Alley and I immediately concluded 
that in Dexter we had got hold of an extraordinary young 
horse. 

Soon after that he fell lame behind, as we supposed from 
kicking in the stall. Ordinarily he was no kicker nor no 
biter. At; his lameness did not leave him, Mr. Alley took 
him to lslip, and drove him a little ; but it was of no service, 
and he was turned out for about six weeks. He was taken 



350 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

up again on the 1st of December, and Mr. Alley drove him 
that winter in double-harness, along with the mare Baby 
Bell. It seemed now that his accidents were all over, for 
with the mare he went steady and well that winter. In the 
spring he was entered in a number of the purses given by 
the proprietors of the Fashion and Union Courses, and at 
the proper time was sent to me to be trained. I soon found 
out what sort of a horse he was. His constitution was fine ; 
his temper was good ; he was a good feeder, not a glutton, 
nor a great eater of hay, but with a healthy appetite and 
digestive powers that would always consume about twelve 
quarts of oats a day ; and that is enough for any horse in 
training. Hence I looked forward with great confidence to 
a successful career for this young horse. 

Dexter made his first race on the 4th of May, 1864, at 
the Fashion Course, for a purse of $100. There were 
twelve entries to this race, and four started. The starters 
were Dexter, Stonewall Jackson of New York (a fast 
bay gelding who had been very successful that spring), 
the chestnut-mare Lady Collins, and Gen. Grant (a brown 
gelding). This horse had been a pacer. He trotted now, 
and trotted exceedingly fast, but he was very unsteady. 
The public thought Stonewall Jackson nearly sure to win 
it ; but when we got over to the Fashion Course, and put the 
money upon Dexter, he became the favorite at the rate of 
six to four. Still, I dare say that no one but Mr. Alley 
and myself suspected and believed that the curtain was 
about to draw up upon the greatest trotter, taken for all-in- 
all, that has ever appeared. 

The race was the usual mile heats, three in five, in har- 
ness. We got off in the first heat, and I took the lead with 
Dexter. At the half-mile, in lm. 13|s., Dexter had a good 
lead, and was going quite within himself. The others 
could not get near him. He won by half a dozen lengths, 
jogging out in 2m. 33s. Stonewall Jackson was second, 
the Lady third, and Grant distanced. The other heats 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 351 

were similar to the first. Dexter was never headed in the 
race, and won all the heats very easily. The second and 
third were 2m. 36s. and 2m. 34^s. Two days afterwards, 
Dexter trotted again. This was at the Union Course, mile 
heats, three in five, in harness. Lady Collins went against 
him. He won in three heats easily, — 2m. 34-^-s., 2m. 3Gs., 
2m. 37i-s. 

Previous to the first race, I had put the muzzle on Dex- 
ter, as we commonly do with trotting-horses in training, 
especially just before the race ; but I now discovered that 
there was no occasion for it, and after that he was never 
muzzled, and had all the hay he wanted. I have said, in 
prior chapters of this work, that no rules can be laid down 
as absolute guides for training horses, because horses differ 
so much in constitution. Dexter was a good, moderate 
feeder, but would not stuff himself full of ha}-, or eat his 
litter. Other horses I have had that could not be kept in 
condition and wind without being usually muzzled in their 
training. 

On the 13th of May, Dexter trotted again, at the Union 
Course, against Doty's bay mare, to wagons. He won the 
first two heats in 2m. 36js. ; 2m. 39s. and then she was 
drawn. On the 18th, at the Fashion Course, he trotted 
mile heats, three in five, in harness, with Lady Shannon, a 
gray mare, in the hands of Robert Walker, and the bay 
gelding Shark, who was in Dan Mace's care. This horse 
belonged to Mr. Jacks then. He was by Hambletonian, 
out of the old mare that was the dam of Dexter's dam. So 
they were closely related. Shark had had a trial on the 
Union Course with a running-horse, and was said to have 
gone fast. He had some backers, but Dexter was the fa- 
vorite. In the first heat Dexter took the lead, and was three 
lengths ahead at the half-mile pole in lm. 15|s. ; Shark was 
second. Dexter made a skip on the home-stretch, but won 
it easily in 2m. 33s. ; Shark second. In the second heat, 
the gray mare was nearly head-and-head with Dexter at 



352 THE TEOTTING-HOESE OF AMERICA. 

the quarter ; but she broke on the back-stretch, ai 1 he had 
a lead of three lengths at the half-mile in lm. lojs. Shark 
was second there. They could not stand the pace; and 
Dexter won it in a mere jog in 2m. 32^s. In the third 
heat, the little horse took the lead again, and, at the half- 
mile pole, led the gray mare three lengths in lm. 13s. On 
the Flushing-end of the course he was full of trot, and I 
let him go along. He increased his lead. On the home- 
stretch, I took him in hand, and he jogged out in 2m. 30s. 
This race was for a purse of $200, and a stake of $50 each. 

Dexter had now, in the course of two weeks, trotted four 
races, in which there were eleven heats. In none of these 
heats had the little horse been headed. People began to 
say, " Hiram Woodruff has got hold of another Ripton ; n 
but I had a trotting-mare in my stable then who made a 
great stride forward. On the 1st of June, Lady Emma 
beat May Queen and Dan Mace at the Union Course in 
such time and such easy style, that she was forthwith 
classed with the best trotters, and there she remained until 
her death late last fall. 

Misfortune was now close at hand for Dexter, but not in 
any grave shape. On the 3d of June he trotted mile heats, 
three in five, to wagons, on the Fashion Course, with Shark 
and another son of Hambletonian, called after the old horse. 
Horace Jones had him : Ad. Carpenter drove Shark. There 
was an immense deal of scoring, — more than there ought 
ever to be. Above ten times we came up without getting 
the word : when we did get it, Dexter broke. Shark took 
the lead, Hambletonian second. At the half-mile, in 
lm. 18^-s., I had passed Hambletonian, and had got to the 
quarters of Shark : at the head of the stretch I had nearly 
collared him ; but, just in the straight, Dexter hit his knee, 
and broke up. Shark won it in 2m. 3Gs., and Hambletonian 
was second. I then drew my horse, as he had given himself 
a pretty hard wipe. He had been backed at five to one at 
the start ; and it seemed a hard case for the layers of the 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 353 

odds. Some people blamed me. It was a hard case for the 
backers of Dexter, and for his owner and me too ; and they 
should have blamed those in authority, who stood up and 
saw a very valuable } r oung horse, and a great public favorite, 
compelled to score above twelve times. I say this, if others 
can beat me in a race, let them do it ; but do not give them 
a chance to beat me before the race begins, by "double- 
banking" me in scoring. The scoring for the first heat is 
no part of the race, for a horse or horses can pay forfeit 
after it ; yet we often see a good horse prevented from win- 
ning by two or three scoring against him alternately, while 
one stays behind each time and hinders a start. This is a 
game for which a remedy ought to be found. This is the 
way Dan Mace with Commodore Vanderbilt, and Jim Eoff 
with Gen. Butler, beat me and Lady Emma at the Union 
Course. 

Dexter's knee swelled a good deal ; and I advised Mr. 
Alley, after we had reduced it, to take him home to Islip, 
and let him run out for a couple of months. He did so. 
lie then took him up, and drove him until the 1st of Octo- 
ber. Dexter then came back to me. After two week's work, 
in which he went well, I gave him a trial. He went in 2m. 
29s., and I knew that he was every day a-coming. I then 
said to Mr. Alley, that the horse was improving every day, 
and that I thought in about two weeks he would be likely 
to show us something worth seeing " to a man up a tree." 
But it was three weeks before the trial came off, and it was 
a damp, cloudy day in November. There was not much 
wind, however, and the track was hard. Mr. Shepherd F. 
Knapp and Mr. Alley were present, and they timed him. I 
knew all the way round that Dexter was doing a great thing. 
I had hardly ever then, if ever, except in the cases of Flora 
Temple and the gray mare Peerless that belongs to Mr. 
Bonner, seen such a stroke kept up from end to end. When 
I turned and came back, I lifted up my hand, and said to the 
gentlemen, " Oh, what a horse ! " 



354 THE TROTTING-EORSE OF AMERICA. 

" What do you think you made ? " said they. 

" Not worse than 2m. 24s." I answered. 

"It was just 2m. 23£s., " said they ; and I was satisfied. 

This was speed enough for a six-year old horse, in his first 
season of trotting. He remained with me until the 1st of 
December, and then he went to Mr. Alley's, at Islip, to be 
wintered. His blankets were gradually taken from him ; and 
he passed the cold weather without clothing, in a good box, 
with a padlock to run in during the day. 



XLIV. 

Dexter's Three-Mile Heats — Match with Stonewall Jackson of Hartford. — 
Description of Stonewall. — Dexter and Gen. Butler. — Dexter and 
Lady Thorn. — Description of Lady Thorn. — The Three-Mile-Heat 
Kace under Saddle. — Dexter and Gen. Butler under Saddle. — Dexter, 
Butler, and George Wilkes. — Dexter against Time, to beat 2m. 19s. 

AFTER the trial I described in the last chapter, I was 
pretty well convinced that this young horse, Dexter, 
was as good a one as had ever come into my hands. Here 
was a young horse that had never had a quart of oats until 
he was more than four years old. In his first season, and 
with very little handling, — for it is to be remembered that 
he was turned out from June to October, — he had trotted 
a trial in 2m. 23£s., and had finished in masterly style. 
My opinion of him was so high, that during the winter I 
matched him to go three-mile heats against a horse that 
had great fame just then, and was thought by many to be 
invincible for a long distance. This horse was Stonewall 
Jackson of Hartford, who had beat Shark with great ease 
after the race in which Dexter hit himself. After I made 
this match, some of my friends thought I had been im- 
prudent and overweeningly confident. The Hartford par- 
ty, who had the other horse, certainly thought so too. It 
was to trot a race of three-mile heats, to go as they pleased, 
on the Fashion Course, June 26, — rain or shine. The 
stake was $2,500 a side, half forfeit. 

When I came to talk to Mr. Alley about it, I found that 
he was not much in favor of letting Dexter trot. He said 
that he was but a young horse, was not seasoned, and that 
he believed three-mile heats might be too long for him 

355 



356 THE TROTTING-HORSL OF AMERICA. 

against such a horse as Stonewall Jackson of Hartford. 
This latter was a bay horse, with two white legs and a 
blaze. He was nearly thoroughbred, was very fast and 
lasting, and a good saddle-horse ; but he had a temper, and 
had bolted once or twice. The upshot of the conversation 
with Mr. Alley was, that I went and offered a large sum 
to get out of the match. The other parties refused to take 
any thing less than the whole of the forfeit, and that I was 
sure not to pay before the day of the race, if then. 

Meantime, Dexter was entered in two of the Fashion 
purses, with Flora Temple, Gen. Butler, and Lady Em- 
ma. One of these was mile heats, three in five, in harness; 
the other mile heats, three in five, to wagons. The first 
of them was trotted on the 2d of June. The starters were 
Dexter and Gen. Butler. Dexter won it easily in three 
heats ; time, 2m. 26|s., 2m. 26£s., 2m. 24^s. The day before, 
Lady Thorn had defeated Frank Vernon and Stonewall 
Jackson of New York, at the Union Course, and had gone 
in 2m. 24^s. ; and now Dexter and the Lady were matched. 

This match was for a thousand a side, mile heats, three in 
five, in harness. Lad} 7- Thorn was a fine, high-bred mare 
from Kentucky, got by Mambrino Chief, and with another 
cross of the Messenger blood through American Eclipse. 
She belonged to Mr. Keif of Philadelphia. I knew she 
was fast, but I thought the little horse could just about 
beat her. The race was made to be trotted over the Union 
Course on Friday, June 9, good day and track. It caused 
great interest, and my house was crowded to its utmost 
capacity at dinner-time. Before the time came to go to 
the course, a great storm came up from the south-east, and 
soon there was much rain. After it ceased, I and one or 
two others walked over to the course, and found it too mud- 
dy and slippery to trot. The race was postponed until the 
following Monday. This was rather unfortunate for Dexter. 
He was very fine indeed that morning, but went off a little 
before Monday. The fact is, that he is a horse of remark- 



THE TROT TING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 367 

♦ably quick intelligence. He knew that there was a race 
on hand just as well as I did, and that knowledge kept him 
excited until after it was over. 

The mare was the favorite at 100 to 70, and her party 
exhibited great confidence. A vast deal of money had been 
laid, but these bets were off by reason of the postponement. 
On the Monday, she was backed at the same rate. "When we 
got the word, we went away at a great rate. At the quarter 
pole, in 35s., she was a neck a-head. Dexter broke, and lost 
two lengths. She led that space at the half-mile, in lm. 
9f. On the lower turn, the little horse gained on her, but 
broke befDre he had collared her. He broke again on the 
stretch ; and I found it was of no use to persevere with him 
for that heat, so she jogged it out in 2m. 24s. It was now 
three to one on the mare. She won the second heat by a 
length in 2m. 26|-. In the third heat, the mare led to 
the middle of the back-stretch, where Dexter pinched her 
and she broke ; but she caught before Dexter had opened 
daylight, and he broke, and fell two lengths behind. She 
led that much at the half-mile pole. On the lower turn, he 
out-trotted her, and she broke. He led her on the stretch, 
where she broke again, and he jogged out in 2m. 27s.; 
but it was not his day, and she jogged out the fourth heat 
in 2m. 26-2-s. 

Dexter had won one race and had lost one in his second 
season, and his engagement at three-mile heats was nigh at 
hand. Mr. Alley, upon further consideration, had not only 
told me that the horse should trot, but had taken half the 
race. When the day came, it was very wet, and the course 
was more like a canal than a race-course. We offered to 
postpone it, but they would not agree. Stonewall Jackson 
was backed at two to one. This odds was tempting to those 
who knew tlu.t Dexter was a splendid horse under the sad- 
dle, and had been ridden a good deal by John Murphy. He 
rode in the race, and Mace rode Stonewall Jackson. In the 
first heat, Dexter broke twice in the first quarter, and lost a 



358 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

great deal. Stonewall was never headed, and won by al- 
most a distance in 8m. 2\. The betting was now 100 to 
40. Our party took these odds freely. There was at that 
time a prevailing notion that Dexter was not as good a 
stayer as Stonewall Jackson. The reverse was true. The 
latter was greatly tired after the heat, while the brown 
horse did not mind it at all. 

In the second heat, Stonewall took the lead, but was de- 
prived thereof, and broke badly. On the back-stretch he 
got to the front again, but was very unsteady. Before they 
reached the head of the home-stretch Dexter had the lead; 
and it was now good-by to Mace. Dexter went on through 
the mud with his fine, square stroke, splashing away, seem- 
ingly as much at his ease as a duck in a horse-pond. 
Stonewall, on the contrary, was all abroad, and never in a 
settled trot. Dexter came in alone in 8m. 5s. It was now 
four to one on Dexter, who looked, after these two heats, as 
though he could trot all day. The race was practically won. 
They started Stonewall again ; but Dexter took the lead at 
the outset, was never headed, and won just as he pleased in 
8m. 9}>s. Money had been laid before the race that Dutch- 
man's time would be beaten ; and it might have been, had 
the weather been good and the track fast. It is not 
prudent to lay on fast time in a race made to go "rain 
or shine. " 

Dexter's fall racing-season commenced with a match 
under the saddle, mile heats, three in five, against Gen. 
Butler, for $2,000. They trotted at the Fashion Course, on 
the 7th of September. Dexter won it easily in three heats — 
2m. 261-s., 2m. 24|s., 2m. 22£s. He was ridden by John 
Murphy. On the 21st of the same month, Dexter trotted 
with Gen. Butler and George Wilkes, mile heats, three in 
five, in harness, for a purse of $1,000, at the Fashion 
Course. He won in three straight heats, the fastest of 
which was 2m. 25s. Butler was second in this race, the 
stallion having been drawn after the second heat. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 359 

Dexter's next engagement was that famous one against 
Time, in which the latter was backed against him at $5,- 
000 to $1,000. Mr. Alley undertook that he should beat 
2m. 19s., and took the bet twice over. The horse was to 
be allowed three trials if he required as many. He was 
also matched two races with Gen. Butler, to wagon, one 
of them mile heats, three in five, and the other two-mile 
heats. These were to be trotted in October, after the time- 
race should be determined. Dexter was never better than 
during his preparation for this time-race. He was already 
in condition, and it did not take a great deal of work to 
keep him there. I had to see that he did not make new 
flesh, and that was about all that was required. We did 
not give him a high trial, but contented ourselves with the 
knowledge that he had his speed, and was in order. 

At first, the betting was at nearly as heavy odds as the 
main stake ; but afterwards no more than three to one could 
be obtained. We felt a good deal of confidence ; for I re- 
lied upon the thorough bottom he had always shown in 
finishing, even from his very first trial, when he came into 
my hands the fall that he was five years old. My opinion, 
declared before the race to a confidential friend, was, that he 
could perform the feat, even if he made a break ; and I 
thought that if he had every thing in his favor, and rated 
right through as he might possibly do, he would just about 
trot the mile in 2m. 15s., or 2m. 16s. We had once thought 
of selecting the Centreville Course for this race ; but it was 
finally deemed better to take the Fashion Course. On the 
evening before the race, things looked favorable, but the 
track was dry and lumpy. Mr. Crocheron went to work 
with his usual energy, and gave it a good watering. After 
this it was brushed. 

There was considerable wind on Tuesday morning ; but 
we waited until well on into the afternoon, when it went 
down, till it was somewhat calm. This was what I had 
hoped and expected. Many years of experience of the 



3 GO THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

weather of this Island, and habits of observation in a great 
deal of ont-door life, in races, working trotters, fishing, and 
otherwise, had led me to conclude, that, as the tide was that 
afternoon, the wind would abate about three or four o'clock. 
Prior to that, we had had the half-mile pole removed. It 
cast a shadow across the course, and Dexter had sometimes 
jumped over it. He was in his box in charge of Peter 
Conover, whom he always liked well, and who liked him 
well, until about half-past three. 

We then took him on to the course, and I gave Murphy 
his final instructions. They were, that he should hold him 
within himself the first half-mile, let him come, round the 
Flushing end, and, when he got into the straight side com- 
ing home, call upon him for his best rate. Pace is a diffi- 
cult thing to estimate ; but Murphy, for so young a man, is 
a very good judge of the rate he is going at. Still, it was 
not effected just as we had intended it should be, and we 
could hardly expect that it would be. The wisest and best- 
laid plans are often difficult to carry out. Johnny Murphy 
mounted, and jogged around to warm the horse up. The 
judges in the stand were Mr. James Jacks, Mr. F. Howard, 
and Mr. S. Truesdell. These gentlemen are well known as 
competent timers and impartial men. Nobody in this coun- 
try ever questioned the decision they rendered as to the 
time Dexter took to trot the mile ; but the French and Eng- 
lish do not to this day fully believe that the horse did it. It 
is so opposed to all their notions of trotting-speed, that they 
cannot put full faith in it. * 

After having jogged Dexter round, Murphy set him a-go- 
ing, and sent him along by the stand, but not for the word. 
On the turn he made such a break as would have defeated 
him in that trial, if he had received the word ; but I did 
not care about that at all. I could see that his speed was 



* They have had another year, and a surpassing of that performance, 
since Hiram dictated the above ; but they remain incredulous. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 361 

enormous. He was chock-full of fire and devil, and, if 
any thing, a little too eager. 

When he got the word, Murphy staadied him nicely, and 
he went to the quarter in 34s. This would win, and he was 
well within himself. The next quarter was a little faster 
than I wanted, as they made the time at the half-mile lm. 
6|s., giving 32 ^s. for the second quarter; but it may have 
varied a small trifle from this, as the half-mile pole was 
down. Everybody was saying he will do it easy, when ho 
broke half-way along the Flushing end. He caught well. 
I have heard people maintain that he did not lose by that 
break, as if a horse can break when trotting better than a 
twenty gait and catch again without losing. It is true 
that he may run fast enough and far enough to make up 
for it ; but Dexter did not do so. When he broke, the peo- 
ple cried, " He can't do it this time." But he settled well; 
and, when he came on to the home-stretch, he had a fine burst 
in. I was up towards there, and sung out to Johnny, as he 
came by me, "Cut him loose: you'll do it yet!" Ther 
Johnny clucked to him, and he went away like an arrow 
from the bow, true and straight, and with immense resolu- 
tion and power of stroke. I knew he must do it if he did 
not break before he got to the score, and up I tossed my hat 
into the air. I never felt happier in all my life. The time 
given by the judges was 2m. 18£s. : the outsiders made it 
somewhat less. Murphy rode this race with nerve, judg- 
ment, and skill. He went faster in the second quarter than 
he thought he was going ; but, after the break, he rode it to 
perfection. Most lads would have gone all to pieces, and 
taken the horse along with them, after that crisis ; but John- 
ny was cool and judgmatical. He collected and steadied 
his horse, and brought him on to the stretch exactly as I 
told liim to bring him, — in wind and heart for a grand ral- 
ly. To stand behind and see him go, after Murphy clucked 
to him and moved his bit, was the finest thing I ever saw 
in all my life. 



XLV. 

Dexter and Butler to Wagons, Mile Heats. — Two Mile-Heats to Wagons. — 
The Best ever made. — Remarks upon the Race. — Dexter at Astoria. — 
Eoff and George M. Patchen, Jun. — Dexter offered for Sale. — Dexter 
and George M. Patchen. Jun. — Eoff's Strategy. 

IN a week after the time-race, Dexter trotted his first 
wagon-match with Gen. Butler. It was mile heats, 
three in five, for $1,000 a side. Gen. Butler had always 
been a remarkably good wagon-horse : his wagon-time was, 
in fact, as good as any he had made in harness ; and one 
of the best races ever witnessed was that in which he beat 
the gray horse Rockingham in five heats on the Fashion 
Course. The third heat in that race, which was the first 
heat that Butler won. was very fast ; but the fourth was 
still faster, — 2m. 27s. if my memory serves me. Thi* 
race with Gen. Butler was the first appearance of Dextei 
to wagon since the race in which he hit himself the previous 
year. The public did not know that he was a good wagon- 
horse ; but my idea was, that his excellence was as great to 
wagon as in harness and under the saddle. Dexter was a 
little thin and tucked up when we took him over to the 
Fashion to trot this race. He had done a great deal of 
work during the season, and some thought him stale j but 
he was not stale. He was, though, thoroughly seasoned 
and hardened ; and every bit of flesh and muscle about his 
frame was nearly as solid as so much brass. In the first 
heat, Butler had the pole ; and, as I did not want to spend 
about half an hour in scoring with him, I took the word a 
length and a half behind. I gained on him a little in the 
862 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 363 

first quarter, which was 37s. ; then Dexter got into his stroke 
and trotted very fast. They were head-and-head at the 
half-mile, and that quarter was 34 £s. We went on neck- 
and-neck until Butler broke, and I took the lead. The 
black horse made another break before we entered the 
stretch. Half-way up I took Dexter in hand, and this 
enabled Butler to get within a length and a half of him at 
the score. The time was 2m. 27js. 

They now offered ten to one on Dexter, but nobody took 
it. Butler had two lengths the start of us, and Dexter 
broke on the turn, and lost three lengths more. The black 
horse was thus five lengths ahead at the quarter in 37s. 
Dexter was now settled, and began to overhaul the " Con- 
traband/' just as a custom-house official overhauls a smug- 
gler — provided he isn't bribed. At the half-mile, Butler's 
lead was reduced to a length, and on the Flushing turn I 
passed him : at the head of the stretch I had a slight lead, 
but in the straight side he came with a fine rush, and got 
even with me ; but he did not pass Dexter, and, being press- 
ed to his utmost, he broke three or four lengths from the 
score, and ran over it. In the third heat, I took the word a 
couple of lengths behind and ; at the quarter, in 38s., But- 
ler's lead was only a length. Dexter continued to gain, and 
trotted this quarter so fast that at the half-mile he was head- 
and-head with Butler, in lm. 14s. We went as near neck- 
and-neck as might be till nearly the head of the stretch, 
where Dexter broke. In turning into the straight side 
Butler had a strong lead; but I collected the brown horse, 
and ho gained so that at the distance Butler's lead was 
•educed to a length. It was necessary to get this length 
<*nd a little more to win ; and this was not very easy to do, 
for Butler was trotting very fast. There was not a better 
finisher on the trotting-turf than Butler, except Dexter 
himself; and the struggle was close and fast: but Dexter 
beat him by a neck and shoulders in 2m. 29s. 

Darius Tallman drove Butler in this race, and drove him 



364 THE TROTTING-HOHSE OF AMERICA. 

well. He is one of the hardest horses to drive that there is 
about here, for he will not bear enough of a pull to help him 
when he needs help. I believe I drove him in the first race 
he ever made, which was against Lady Suffolk, — not the 
old mare, but a gray mare belonging to Mr. Genet. 

On the 27th of October, Dexter and Butler trotted their 
second match to wagons, on the Fashion Course. It was 
two-mile heats, and certainly was the best two-mile wagon- 
race that ever was made. Dexter had done well since the 
mile-heat race. He looked somewhat gaunt, but his coat 
lay right, his eye was bright, and he was full of spirit ; but, 
as I knew that Gen. Butler was a very formidable two- 
mile wagon-horse, I thought the odds laid on Dexter (100 
to 40) were too great. The black horse had trotted the 
fastest two-mile heat to a wagon that was ever known. I 
had seen him do it, and knew that it was well done. It was 
when he trotted the matches with George M. Patchen, and 
Dan Mace drove him in it. I recollect somebody saying to 
Mace, as he came along with his lead after weighing, " You 
have got cotton in Butler's ears to-day." Upon which I 
remarked, " I shall put cotton in mine when anybody comes 
along hereafter to talk down this horse." 

I considered that the odds of 100 to 40 on Dexter against 
such a horse was too great; but I had great confidence, 
nevertheless, that Dexter would beat him. My opinion had 
always been, that Dexter was quite as remarkable for staying- 
power as he was for speed; and here was a race in which 
staying-power was sure to be in demand. It was at the 
close of a long and arduous season, in which Dexter had 
trotted many races, and had won them all but one. It was 
late in the year, and the day was not calculated for a very 
fast race. The clouds hung low and dark, and the wind 
came from the eastward, keen and salty. There were many 
time-bets, and the marks ranged from 5m. 3s. to 5m. 5s. 
I suppose there was not a man on the course who thought 
five minutes would be beaten. The company was large. It 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 365 

would have been much smaller if Mr. Alley's friends and 
acquaintances had not come out to see his wonderful little 
horse trot once more that fall, in which he had made himself 
so famous. There were also a number of Western gentle- 
men and some of the most eminent merchants of New 
York on the ground. Tallman drove Butler again, and I 
drove Dexter. 

After scoring a couple of times, in which Butler broke 
and ran, we got the word, he having a small lead. He soon 
broke ; and, when he caught his trot again, he was two lengths 
and a half ahead. I saw thus early that Tallman did not 
mean to lose that day for want of a little running. He led, 
with a break or two here and there, after which he would catch 
and trot very fast, half-way round the Flushing end. There 
I passed him, and came on to the straight side with a little 
lead. At the stand, in 2m. 30^s., I took the pole, and went 
on with the lead; Dexter drew away from Butler, and led 
two lengths and a half at the half-mile pole. He was going 
as steady as a clock ; and, as it was not worth while to pull 
him back to Butler, I let him keep up his stroke until we 
got on the straight side. There was a great gap between 
us, and I jogged the little horse out in 5m. |-s. The time, and 
the ease with which it was done, amazed everybody but me. 
My uncle, George Woodruff, was there ; and says he to me, 
" Why, Hi., this is a wonderful horse for bottom ! He 
seemed as if he would have kept up that rate for another 
mile!" 

" Well," said I, " it's my firm belief that he could, and 
more too, though that would beat Dutchman's time." 

It was ten to one on Dexter now. At the start I was 
three or four lengths behind, and did not rightly know 
that it was a start, until I had called out to Mr. Crocheron, 
who stood at the turn inside the rails, " Is it a word ? " 
says I. 

" Yes, it is ; go along, old man ! " says Joe. Well, I did 
go along j and at the half-mile pole Dexter had nearly got to 



3GG THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

Butler's wheel. Turning into the Flushing end, Butler 
broke, and Dexter went on in front. I had not intended to 
take the lead in this first mile ; but the little horse was so 
full of go, and pulled with such resolution, that I thought 
it safest to let him go ahead. He went the mile in 2m. 
28s. Butler, with some running, was within three lengths 
of him at the score. The little horse went on with a stroke 
that was marvellous for power and precision. It was as 
strong and as regular as when he started ; and it was a per- 
fect joy to sit behind him in that fourth mile, and find that 
he was going faster and better than in any former portion 
of the race. At the half-mile, I had lost sight of Butler j 
and, from that out, the little horse and I had it all to our- 
selves. A hundred yards from home I got him down to a 
slow jog, and thus we jogged out in 4m. 56£s. There was a 
good deal of excitement when the time was given out. Mr. 
Dexter Bradford, after whom the horse was named, came to 
me with Mr. Alley and Mr. Foster. The latter said, " This 
horse, in my judgment, considering where he was when he 
got the word, and how he jogged out, could in this heat to a 
wagon have equalled Flora Temple's 4m. 50 ^s. in harness." 
" You little rascal," said I, for I was well pleased, " I told 
you, before people thought much of him, that this was 
the King of the World. I don't know that he could have 
come out in 4m. 50^3., but I could have driven him three or 
four seconds faster than I did." I have considered all tho 
circumstances over since, and I am quite sure that I could 
have brought him home in 4m. 52s. or 4m. 53s. 

Now, I wish to point out that in this race Dexter showed 
the perfection of trotting. He was never in the least flur- 
ried or disturbed ; he never made a break ; and his speed 
was very equally distributed over the ground. In the first 
heat, his second mile was just a quarter of a second faster 
than his first. In the second heat, his second mile was a 
quarter of a second slower than his first ; but it would have 
been faster if I had wanted it to be. He did the last hun- 



TIIE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 3G7 

dred yards in a mere dog-trot. The day was not favora- 
ble ; and the second was his great heat. This shows the 
bottom of the horse. If the first heat had been a slow one, 
we might lave looked for a better; but it was fast, much 
faster than any body expected. And then to go and beat 
that by four seconds and a half, with such a start as he took 
and such an outcome, was truly wonderful. 

While Dexter had been achieving the great feats which I 
have related, Mr. Alley was living at Astoria, and the horse 
was taken there to be wintered. A little paddock and box 
were constructed for him on the sheltered slope of a hill 
looking towards the south-east, and thus protected from the 
north-west winds. Peter Conover went with him to look 
aftur him ; and there he ran out of doors all winter, without 
clothing. He had a good many visitors there ; and gentle- 
men from the West often went up to Astoria with Capt. 
Longstreet, on the Sylvan Stream, for the express purpose of 
seeing him. Towards the close of that winter, the horse 
being then eight years old, Mr. Foster, who was always one 
of his greatest admirers, came to me, and told me that he 
thought he had grown since the fall. He seemed to think 
it almost impossible that it should be so ; but I told him I 
had no doubt his idea was correct. 

It is never to be forgotten, in connection with this horse, 
that he was not subject to the early-forcing process. Pie 
had no oats to eat until he was four years and a month old ; 
and he did not trot until he was six. Now, I have heard 
some express the opinion that he would have been a better 
horse if he had had grain early. For my part, I can hardly 
conceive of a better trotting-horse than Dexter ; for he has 
all the qualities and gifts that a good trotter can have. He 
is amazingly fast, and lie is as stout as he is fast; he is 
good under the saddle, good in harness, and good to wagon; 
he is good on a hard track, and good in the mud ; finally, he 
is a grand campaigner. His last race in this hard season 
just gone by was, as we have seen, his best. Such another 



368 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

two-mile-heat race to wagons was never seen before, and has 
never been seen since. But, if a horse is wanted to stand 
training and trotting at three or four years old, I admit that 
he must be fed and forced young. 

Before the next spring came, Eoff had arrived from Cali- 
fornia with the brown stallion George M. Patohen, jun., and 
had begun to throw out hints that he was Dexter's master. 
At that time it was thought Mr. Teakle owned the California 
stallion ; but this was not the case. He was, however, part 
owner of Dexter ; and Eoff had driven Princess for him 
when he owned her. At my birth-day dinner on the 22d 
of February, there was a considerable celebration. My 
friends mustered very strong. The Long-Island breeders 
of game-fowl fought a main of cocks as a part of the sports 
of the day, and after dinner we all got warm and merry. 
Finally, Eoff began to say what he would do with Patchen. 
He would trot him three miles, and this and that, against 
Dexter. At last I got rather excited, and, encouraged by 
Oliver Marshall and Foster, offered to back Dexter against 
his horse, three-mile heats, Dexter to pull a wagon, and he 
to go in harness, for five thousand dollars a side. 

At first Eoff pretended that he would make it ; but when 
I stated the proviso, that the owners of Dexter must let me 
have him or it was no match, he objected to the proviso. 
Up to that time, some had thought that Eoff would hare 
Dexter; but, when he objected to the proviso, I immediate!;' 
discovered that Mr. Alley still had sole control of the horse, 
and that Eoff was afraid he would let me have him for that 
match. In due season, Peter Conover brought him back to 
me, and he was put in work. Mr. Alley soon after decided 
to sell him ; and in " Wilkes' Spirit of the Times," of April 
14, 1866, he was advertised to be sold on the Union Course, 
by auction, on the 9th of May. When he was put up, the 
first bidder was John Morrissey, who offered $11,000: 
that was before he was elected to Congress, you know! 
Then William Saunders, a very good, sagacious horseman, 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 369 

offered $13,000. Mr. Pettee advanced $500 on that, and 
then I jogged Dexter around again ; then Saunders offered 
$13,750 : but Mr. Alley did not want to sell him for that ; 
so Mr. Pettee went on and bid $14,000, at which price he 
was bought in for his owner. 

Soon after that, Mr. Isaac Anderson of Chicago offered 
to give $15,000 for the horse, provided I would go to 
Chicago to drive him ; but it did not suit me to go so far 
away. At the same time, Saunders wanted him very much ; 
and I challenged with him for three races, three-mile heats, 
under saddle, in harness, and to wagon. Meantime, Dexter 
got a little sore ; and when Saunders came- over to my stable 
intending to buy him, to keep the Chicago man from getting 
him, he was so lame that William lost his resolution. 

EofFs California stallion made a brilliant opening, and 
defeated Vanderbilt in such style that many people protested 
that Dexter's time was come, and that the big horse could 
beat 2m. 20s. Eoff kept this humbug alive by his artful 
way of talk and action. Mr. Crocheron, in the month of 
May, advertised a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, 
in harness ; the winner to have $1,200, the second $500, and 
the third $300, if there was a third. This purse closed at 
the Fashion Course on the 1st of June, after the race 
between Commodore Vanderbilt and Stonewall Jackson, 
which was won by the Commodore in three heats. The 
entries to the $2,000 purse were Dexter, Geo. M. Patchen, 
jun., Commodore Vanderbilt, and Gen. Butler. The race 
was to be trotted on the 28th of June. As soon as the 
entries were announced from the stand, Eoff coolly chal- 
lenged any horse in the world to trot mile heats, three ir 
five, and two-mile heats in harness. Mr. Eelf was noi 
there, and Dan Pfifer said nothing for Lady Thorn; so, 
with my consent, Oliver Marshall took it up for Dexter, as 
to the mile-heat race. The days named by Eoff were the 
15th and 22d of June. I thought it best to trot Dexter 
but one race prior to the great purse. On the 15th, this 

24 



370 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

match was trotted on the Fashion Course. The number of 
people present was immense, and it was a great pity that 
such a concourse should have gathered together to be sorely 
disappointed. 

Dexter, I knew, was not half himself. He was sore and 
lame, and his lameness had kept him in a state of nervous 
irritability. This put Mr. Eoff in a very tight place. He 
must beat Dexter ; — and he had a strong suspicion that he 
could not do it, even lame as he was, — or the people might 
discover that the California stallion was not the horse they 
believed him to be. A man of less courage and artfulness 
than Eoff would have been in a regular dilemma ; but he 
hit upon an expedient which enabled him to keep up the 
humbug of his horse's ability to beat Dexter. He managed 
in such a way that people thought he threw the race. This 
maintained the character of the horse; and as for Eoff's 
own character, it was in keeping with that. 

But the truth is, that he made his horse do all he could ; 
and in the third heat he was clucking to him all along the 
back-stretch. Dexter won it in three heats : time, 2m. 29^s., 
2m. 28|s., 2m. 27^8. The day before, George Wilkes 
bad defeated Lady Thorn to wagons at the Union Course in 
2m. 27s., 2m. 25s., 2m. 25|a ; but, for all that, Eoff was 
anxious to match the California stallion against him. It 
was a part of his system. If the match was not accepted, 
it added to the notoriety of his horse. If it was, his share 
of the gate-money would greatly exceed what he lost ; and 
he would either make the people believe that he threw it, or 
invent some plausible reason why he was beaten. Besides, 
as he knew that he was quite sure to be beaten by such 
horses as Dexter and George Wilkes, he had almost a cer- 
tainty in bets that he might procure to be laid upon them 
and against George M. Patchen, jun. The mainstay of the 
whole thing was the keeping up of the fabulous reputation 
of that horse. 



XLVI. 

Oexter sold to George Trussel. — Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Commodore 
Vanderbilt. — Dexter goes to Budd Doble. — Dexter and George M. 
Patchen at Philadelphia. 

THE last race in which I drove Dexter was for the purse 
of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, in harness ; the 
second to have $500 out of the purse if three started, and 
the third $300 if four started. It was originally fixed to 
come off on the 28th of June ; but the wretched display- 
made by the California stallion in his match with Dexter 
(alluded to in the preceding chapter) had disgusted so 
many people, and so disheartened Mr. Crocheron, that he 
resolved to postpone it until the 2d of July. Before the 
race, Dexter had been disposed of by Mr. Alley to a gentle- 
man from Chicago. It was not, however, to Mr. Anderson, 
but to Mr. George Trussell, with whom Mr. Fawsett had au 
interest, either at that time or very soon afterwards. The 
price they paid was $14,000. It was not large, considering 
the powers and achievements of the horse, taking into 
account what his winnings had amounted to the preceding 
year, and keeping in view the large prizes and brilliant 
prospects held out all over the country for the best trotter 
on the turf. The idea that he was not the best trotter had 
long ceased to trouble me : but many still held that Lady 
Thorn was his equal in some points ; and there were people 
who believed and maintained that the California stallion 
was sure to beat him as soon as it suited EofFs book to let 
him do so. 

This infatuation remained for months, when events had 

371 



372 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

made it palpable to all but tbe wilfully blind tbat Dexter 
could lose the stallion in any way of going that trotting- 
horses go. The stallion did not appear in this race ; Eoff 
believing, no doubt, that he had a much better chance to 
win with Gen. Butler. He had, to give him due credit, 
brought Butler into magnificent condition ; and his patient, 
skilful handling of the horse in driving was very fine. All 
that party over at the Fashion were full of confidence that 
Butler would win it ; and they took the odds of 100 to 40 
on Dexter to a large amount, and laid 60 to 40 on Butler 
against Commodore Yanderbilt. There was one consider- 
ation which no doubt largely influenced the Butler party in 
taking the odds ; that was, that Dexter had not been just 
himself that year. Eoff affected to doubt it, but he knew 
it well enough. The trouble was in the horse's feet, which 
kept him continually on the fret through soreness. That 
had, no doubt, some effect on the price at which he was sold ; 
for, if he had been clearly all right forward, there were scores 
of men who would have given $15,000 for him. 

My own opinion was, that the trouble was merely of a 
temporary nature ; but every man of much experience with 
horses- knows that a great deal of vagueness and uncertainty, 
not to say contradiction, has long existed, even among the 
most advanced veterinarians, in regard to lameness in the 
fore-feet. There was a chance, that, instead of getting better, 
he would get worse, and have disease of a chronic character. 
The chance was remote ; but it existed, and had prevented 
"William Saunders and some other good horsemen from 
buying him. "When we took him on the course on the 2d 
of July, he looked exceedingly well bodily, but he had not 
been going well. He was limping a little, pulling a little 
on one rein, and was prevented from letting loose in his 
usual limber and determined manner by the soreness. If 
he had not got better during the race, he could not have won 
it : but he did get better, as we shall presently see ; and his 
immense pluck and bottom enabled him to add another to 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 373 

those performances which had already made him one of the 
hoasts of this country and one of the wonders of the outer 
world. 

The start was not soon got, for Butler and Vanderbilt 
broke often in scoring. I did not, however, mind this to- 
day ; because I knew, that, whatever they might think of 
the staying-power of Gen. Butler, I had the real sticker 
when the pace was very strong. The question was, whether 
Dexter would warm up, and regain the ability to cut loose. 
In the earlier part of this work, I related how I won a great 
race with Bipton, when he was stiff and lame ; and that race 
came into my head as I scored time after time with Eoff 
and with Vanderbilt. When the word was given, Vander- 
bilt broke, and Dexter took the lead : Butler lay next me at 
the quarter-pole, two lengths behind. At the middle of the 
back-stretch, Dexter wanted to get up ; but I succeeded in 
keeping him to his trot, and at the half-mile he led two 
lengths in lm. lo^s. Butler got his nose to my wheel at 
the head of the home-stretch, and soon after broke : but he 
caught, and trotted very fast, and Dexter broke, and lost it 
in 2m. 28s. 

There was a good deal more scoring before we started for 
the second heat ; and, while it was going on, Eoff offered to 
lay 500 to 400 that Butler won. The start was a good one, 
and we went together in close order. At the quarter-pole, 
Dexter's nose was at Butler's haunches, and the Commodore 
was at my horse's shoulder : so we went to the half-mile, 
but not without a skip or two. The time here was lm. 
13^3. On the Flushing end, Butler drew away a little, and 
Dexter broke on the home-stretch. Vanderbilt took the 
inside position, and tried hard for the heat, John Lovett 
laying on the whip ; but he broke, and Butler won in 2m. 
27s. ; Dexter second. 

They now laid ten to one on Butler. Some of the 
stanch friends and admirers of the little horse came to me, 
and bemoaned that they had lived to see the day when it 



374 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

was ten to one on Butler against Dexter, and they dared not 
take the odds. I did not encourage them to bet ; but I said 
to Mr. Alley and Mr. Foster, " The race is not lost, and 
won't be till it's won : there's a chance yet, mind you, with 
this horse." That was because I knew his invincible game 
and thorough bottom, if he could once manage to get his 
speed. I kept him on the move between heats ; for to suffer 
him to cool slowly down to torpor and stiffness again was 
to lose it to a certainty. 

We had another good start. On the turn, Butler led a 
length, and the Commodore was neck-and-neck with me. 
The Commodore was trotting fast ; and I took a good pull 
on Dexter, to let the former take a tussle with Butler. At 
it they went, these commanders of the land and sea ; and 
past the quarter-pole the Commodore reached Butler's 
shoulder. I was a couple of lengths behind. The Com- 
modore now broke, and went all to pieces ; and Dexter, well 
settled, began to close accounts with Butler. We gained 
inch by inch ; and at the half-mile pole, in lm. 13 ^s., Eoff 
did not have to look much over his shoulder to see the white 
face and wicked eye that was after him. Half-way round 
the Flushing end, Dexter was at Butler's girths, and at the 
head of the stretch had got forward to his shoulder. It 
was now or never. We came along the straight side head- 
to-head. Butler trotted well, and Eoff drove him with line 
art; but Dexter lasted the longest in the brush at their best. 
Inside the distance, Butler broke, and Dexter won in 2m. 
27|s. 

There was a good deal of excitement now, but little bet- 
ting. Sim Hoagland came to me, and said, "Hiram, you've 
got 'em." I thought I had too ; but I knew that Butler 
would make a desperate fight to the end. So it proved. In 
the fourth heat, we went away neck-and-neck ; while Van- 
derbilt was outpaced, soon broke, and was out of it. At 
the quarter in 37s., Dexter and Butler were side hy side. 
Dexter then got a neck in front, and thus we went to the 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 375 

half-mile pole. I did not wish to leave Eoff. With him 
under my eye on the outside, I had him just where I wanted 
him ; and I thought to myself, " When you get the pole away 
from me, you'll have won it." Half-way round the Flush- 
ing end, we were neck-and-neck again. Butler then broke, 
and Dexter took a lead of a length. Up the home-stretch, 
Eoff and the black horse tried all they knew, and made a 
gallant fight for it; but Dexter was getting better and 
better. I could feel his stroke growing bolder and firmer 
the farther he went. Half-way up, Butler broke, and Dexter 
won it in the splendid time of 2m. 24 .\s. 

Many of those who had laid wild odds on Butler after 
the second heat looked as if they felt sick at the stomach 
when they heard the time given out, and saw Dexter move 
briskly away, as limber as an eel, and full of the devil again. 
As Vanderbilt had been distanced in the fourth heat, the 
only starters in the fifth were Dexter and Butler. It was 
100 to 60 on the brown horse. We went away head-and- 
head, and fast. On the turn Butler broke, but caught 
readily and trotted fast. At the quarter in 37|s., he was at 
Dexter's shoulder. They w- ent away very fast along the back- 
stretch ; for they got to the half-mile in lm. 12|s., neck-and- 
neck. This made the eighteenth quarter in the race better 
than 35s. ; and the rate at which they trotted the nineteenth 
and twentieth quarters shows what gluttons they were, espe- 
cially Dexter, who never made a break in his winning-heats. 
"We went from the half-mile pole to the head of the stretch 
neck-and-neck, and at a great rate ; but Butler could not stand 
the pressure any further, and he broke, and I got the lead. 
Butler made another effort, but broke again, and Dexter 
won it easily in 2m. 24^ s. This was the fastest heat in the 
race, and the fastest fifth heat that ever was trotted. When 
we consider that it followed the fastest fourth heat that had 
been trotted, we shall be enabled to appreciate its value. I 
think that in this race Dexter displayed as much constancy, 
courage, and unflinching game as any horse ever did in any 



376 THE TROTTWG-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

race that I remember. He struggled against difficulties, 
and contended with pain, until finally he overcame his bodily 
ailments by means of a dauntless spirit, and defeated a 
very formidable adversary, upon whom 100 to 10 had been 
going a-begging. 

As I have before remarked, this was the last race for 
which I prepared him, or in which I drove him. What I 
have hitherto said about him I knew of my own knowledge. 
Concerning his career after this, I shall have to proceed 
upon the reports of his public performances, and what I 
have gathered from those who witnessed them. When he 
left my stable, Peter Conover went with him ; and that was 
no small advantage to the horse and his owner. Mr. Trussell 
selected for his future trainer and driver Budd Doble, a 
young man of high character, good intelligence, and much 
experience of horses for his years. He had been among 
trotters from the time that he was a little boy, his father 
being a trainer and driver; and Budd himself was everywhere 
esteemed as one of the very best riders in the country. It 
was very soon understood that Doble would have to drive 
and ride against Eoff, for a hippodroming expedition between 
Dexter and the California stallion had been agreed upon. 

The first place they visited was Philadelphia ; but, prior 
to that, Dan Pfifer published a letter in "The Spirit of the 
Times," offering to make a match with Toronto Chief against 
either Dexter or Butler,, to be trotted under saddle early in 
July. The response to this was an offer from the owners of 
Dexter and Butler to make up a stake of $1,000 with 
Toronto Chief, to trot mile heats, three in five, and go as 
they pleased, about the 18th of July. This race was after- 
wards brought about. 

The trot at Philadelphia was on the 9th of July, and, as 
advertised, for a purse $2,000. Whether the parties agreed 
to divide equally, or what share Eoff and his horse were to 
have, I do not know, and we need not inquire. Everybody 
knows that the terms were fixed beforehand upon which 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 377 

Eoff consented to trot with Dexter; for, though some con- 
tinued to think that the Dig brown horse could beat the 
little one, his trainer and driver was quite certain that he 
could not. The race was on the Suffolk-park Course. Two 
to one was laid upon Dexter, whose race of the Monday 
previous of five heats had done him a great deal of good. 
I concluded that it had done so before he left my place to 
go on to Philadelphia ; and the event proved that it was so. 
In the first heat, Dexter took the lead, and kept it. He 
won in 2m. 26 |s. In the second, the little horse broke in 
the first quarter, and the big one got a lead of four or five 
lengths ; but then Dexter out-trotted him all the way, and 
won by three lengths in 2m. 25s. In the third heat, Dexter 
took the lead, went to the half-mile in lm. 10s., four or five 
lengths ahead, and continued to drop the California horse as 
he went on. On the home-stretch, Dexter made a break, but 
won the heat by six lengths in 2m. 23|s. That made the 
fastest heat that had been won in harness, except those of 
Flora Temple. I had looked for it that season, but not 
quite so soon after the five heats on the Fashion, in which 
the fifth was 2m. 24£. It had been my conviction for a 
long period, as my trusted friends know, that Dexter would 
reform the record from top to bottom, and beat Flora Temple's 
time in harness and to wagon, just as he had beat the best 
saddle-time. It was, however, a question with me how Eoff 
could have been within six lengths at the finish of this heat 
in 2m. 23^s., unless the course was uncommonly fast, or some- 
thing else. But perhaps the six lengths were ten or twelve. 
Afterwards, when these horses travelled the country together, 
and Dexter made better and better time, it used to be a 
matter of remark among a few of us, that Eoff was never 
distanced; but at last I heard an explanation hazarded, 
which I believe to have been the truth. The parties being 
all in together, none of them could afford to have a part of 
the concern disgraced ; and the judges were probably given 
to understand, that, in order to see Dexter do his best, they 



378 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

must agree to see nothing else. As for the rest of the people, 
their eyes were all on Dexter, and none of them knew or 
cared where Eoffs horse was at the finish. I cannot other- 
wise imagine how Dexter could trot so fast as he often did 
afterwards, without distancing the California horse. 



xlvii. 

Dexter, Gen. Butler, and Toronto Chief under Saddle. — Dexter and Geo. M. 
Patchen, Jun., at Avon Spi'ings. — The Track Short. — Short Track no 
Record. — Dexter, Patchen, Jun., and Rolla Golddustat Buffalo. — Dexter 
and Butler under Saddle. — Dexter trots in 2m. 18s. — Dexter, Patchen, 
Jun., and Butler at Cleveland. — Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Detroit. — 
Dexter and Patchen, Jun., at Chicago. — Dexter and Butler under Saddle. 
— Dexter and Patchen at Milwaukee. — Same at Adrian, Toledo, Kal- 
amazoo, and Wheeling. — Dexter and Magoozler the Pacer at Pittsburr. 

THE sweepstakes of $1,000 each, in which Dexter, Gen. 
Butler, and Toronto Chief were engaged, was trotted 
on Fashion Course, on the 19th of July. After his race 
at Philadelphia, on the 9th, Doble brought Dexter back to 
the Island, and gave him a little saddle-work, to fit him for 
this race, which was mile heats, three in five, under saddle. 
He went so fast, and appeared to be so well, that he was the 
favorite over both the others. He was ridden by Doble, 
while Eoff rode Butler, and Johnny Murphy was upon 
Toronto Chief. In the first heat, Dexter broke, and was ten 
lengths behind at the quarter ; but he made up the gap, and 
won in 2m. 24^.s. This heat warmed him to his work. He 
soon took the lead in the second heat, was never headed,, 
and won easily by five or six lengths in 2m. 19s. Butler 
was second. The third heat was won very easily in 2m. 
22s., although he broke near the quarter-pole, and lost a 
deal of ground. At the half-mile pole, he was fifteen lengths 
behind Toronto Chief, who was leading; but, on the Flush- 
ing end, Dexter cut loose in earnest, and trotted the third 
quarter in 33s., which brought him up to Toronto Chief at 
the head of the stretch. He then came away, and won with 

379 



380 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

great ease by five lengths. Butler was second, and the 
time was 2m. 22s. 

Dexter and Patchen now started on a tour to the West. 
The people of that section, especially those of Buffalo, 
Cleveland, and Chicago, had offered larger purses than had 
ever before been given to trotters; and the fact that Dexter 
then made his first appearance in those cities enabled the 
associations to realize the money they gave. He was, be- 
yond all question, the great source of attraction. A fair 
number of people would have assembled to see Butler, Tatch- 
en, jun., and the other trotters, who moved upon what a 
poetical friend of mine terms "The path of empire;" but 
the vast crowds who appeared in such multitudes as even to 
surpass our greatest day on the Island came out to see 
Dexter. It was a hippodrome arrangement, so far as he 
was concerned, because none of the others had a ghost of 
a chance to beat him as long as he remained well. 

But the people did not mind that. It rather added to 
their enthusiasm when they found that he was not only the 
best of the strangers, but so much the best that there was 
no comparison. I had long held to that opinion, as also did 
Mr. Alley, Mr. Pettee, and Mr. Foster, and now nearly every- 
body who stayed at home coincided in it. I did, however, 
see one gentleman lay a bet with Mr. Crocheron, that Geo. 
M. Patchen, jun., would beat Dexter a race before they came 
home again ; but some time afterward, I heard the same gen- 
tleman trying to convince Uncle Joe, that it was the latter 
who had backed the California horse. So, while we were 
fishing for horse-mackerel and sheeps-head in the waters of 
our bays on the south side, the great trotters, with the ex- 
ception of George Wilkes, Lady Thorn, and Lady Emma, 
put out to reap the rich harvest of the West. The first 
place they trotted at was Avon Springs, where a purse of 
$1,000 was given. The track was a half-mile one, and un- 
fortunately a trifle short. The first heat was close but slow. 
Dext ^r .won in 2m 31^s. In the second heat, Dexter went 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 381 

clean away from the stallion, and trotted the first round :n 
lm. 9s. He came home in 2m. 21s. ; but, as it was after- 
wards found that the course was a little short, "The Spirit 
of the Times " wisely decided that it should not make a 
record. 

It is of great importance that short tracks should be dis- 
couraged. Very often they are short by accident, as this 
at Avon Springs was ; but I fear they have been sometimes 
purposely constructed short, with a view to deceive and 
swindle purchasers of horses. Hence, Mr. Bonner and 
some other gentlemen, when going to see horses on some 
tracks, have prudently carried surveyors' chains in their 
carpet-bags. 

From Avon Springs, Doble passed on with Dexter to Buf- 
falo, and there trotted him on the third day of the great 
meeting for the large purse. The race was mile heats, three 
in five, in harness. The whole value of the purse was $5,- 
750. Of this sum the winner was to have $4,000 ; the 
second, $1,000 ; the third, $500; and the fourth, if there was 
a fourth, $250. But there were but three starters, Dexter, 
George M. Patchen, jun., and Rolla Golddust. The latter 
was a fine, rangy gelding, bred by Mr. Dorsey, near Louis- 
ville, got by his stallion Golddust, out of a high-bred mare. 
He was the best of a lot of young trotters brought here by Mr. 
Dorsey and my brother William Woodruff, who then trained 
for him, and I think him a horse of a good deal of promise. 
But, in this race at Buffalo, he was last in all the heats. 
Dexter won with great ease in 2m. 27£s., 2m. 29s., 2m. 25s. 

This was no great things to see for $5,500, and the 
twenty thousand people who were present went away rather 
discontented. On the fifth day, Dexter trotted again, and 
this time it was under saddle. It was against Gen. Butler, 
mile heats, three in five, for an extra purse of $1,500. 
In the first heat, Dexter forced the pace, and won by twenty 
lengths in 2m. 21|s. Dan Mace was now pi t on Butler; 
but the horse was not as he had been when he beat George 



382 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

M. Patchen in 2m. 21s., and Dexter -won again in 2m. 26s. 
The people began to be disappointed ; and feeling how gen- 
erously the Association had behaved, and how much the 
assemblage would like to see a fast heat, Mr. Joseph Hall 
of New York persuaded Mr. Trussell and Doble to let the 
little horse do something like his best. Doble averred that 
the track was not altogether good, and that the dense crowd 
on the stretch might break him up ; but he said, with Mr. 
Trussell's consent, that, if he was level and well settled at 
the half-mile pole, he would let him come the last half fast. 
This just happened. He trotted the first quarter in 35Js., 
the second in 34is., and came home the last half-mile in 
lm. 8s. From all that I have heard, I believe that the 
course was not near as good as the Fashion Course, and 
therefore his performance was one of great value. But 
it was no more than might have been looked for. The 
preceding year, I had rated him as good for a mile, under 
saddle, in 2m. 16s. ; and, if the Buffalo Course was 2s. slow, 
his performance was equal to 2m. 16s. 

At Cleveland, Dexter trotted on the fourth day of the 
meeting, Aug. 25, for a purse of $2,000, of which the 
second horse was to have $300, and the third $200. His 
competitors were Patchen, jun., and Gen. Butler. The 
latter was now in charge of William McKeever, who was 
afterwards killed at Chicago, while driving him in a heat 
after dark against Cooley. He was a young man that I 
knew well, and a very honest and worthy young man. We 
deplored his death very much when the news reached us 
on the Island. This race at Cleveland was mile heats, 
three in live, in harness. The course was heavy; and 
Dexter won very easily in three straight heats, in the 
thirties. 

The next place of action was at the city on the strait 
between Lakes Erie and St. Clair, — Detroit. Patchen, jun., 
went against Dexter in harness, and, as usual, was easily 
defeated in three straight heats. The time was 2m. 24£s., 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 383 

2m. 2GJs., 2m. 23 l s. Chicago was the next place ; and there 
Dexter and Patchen trotted in harness, on the 5th of Sep- 
tember, for a purse of $5,000, of which the second horse 
was to have $1,000. Dexter won the first heat in the 
thirties; and, when the time was announced, the crowd grew 
turbulent, and began to hoot and yell. Thereupon Mr. Trus- 
sell and Doble made up their minds that it was better not 
to wait for Eoff and the stallion. In the next heat, Dexter 
went on, and trotted it virtually alone in 2m. 24s. This 
restored good humor; ami, when he completed the third heat 
in 2m. 23s., the people of that part of Illinois perceived 
what sort of a horse he was. 

But his only defeat that year was now at hand. On tho 
8th of September, he trotted against Gen. Butler under 
saddle. The course was very bad going, and the cinder 
slack of which the track was composed flew up and hit him 
at every stride. lie won the first heat in 2m. 33}s. But- 
ler won the next two in 2m. 27s. and 2m. 20. Is., and then 
Dexter was drawn. The track was no doubt bad ; but the 
horse must have been very much off, because the going was 
as good for him as it was for Butler, who beat him. lie 
came again quickly ; for in a week, at Milwaukee, he beat 
Patchen, jun., in great style, in harness, in three straight 
heats, — time, 2m. 24]s., 2m. 22^s., 2m. 29s. Patchen 
was said to be forty yards behind in the fast heat; but, 
as his time was taken as 2m. 29s. in his fastest heat, 
I think he must have been eighty yards behind, instead of 
forty. 

In another week, McKeever was killed at Chicago, whilo 
driving against Cooley ; and that was a heavy blow and 
great discouragement to trotting in that neighborhood. On 
the same day that this tragedy occurred at Chicago, Dexter 
beat Patchen, jun., in three heats at Adrian, Mich. ; time, 
2m. 32s., 2m. 27. !,s., 2m. 31^s. Toledo was the next place 
at which Dexter and Patchen appeared. Dexter won again 
in three heats, — 2m. 32s. ; 2m. 22^s., 2m. 31s. The farce of 



384 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

pretending that there was a race between the stallion and 
the little horse was now too broad even for Eoff ; so, with 
the amazing coolness which is one of his characteristics, 
he told the people, before the word was given, that he was 
not trotting against Dexter. I think this was rather 
unnecessary, considering that the people of North-western 
Ohio are commonly accounted as smart as their neigh- 
bors. This affair at Toledo was on the 28th of September. 
They went on to Kalamazoo, and trotted for a premium 
of $2,000, with an extra $500 if Flora Temple's time on 
that course was beaten. The first heat was slow, — 2m. 27s. ; 
but the second and third were fast, — 2m. 21|s., 2m. 21Js. 
This did not beat Flora's time ; but, as the course was not as 
good as when she trotted, it was deemed to be a performance 
of sufficient merit to receive the extra $500. On the 12th 
of October, they trotted at Wheeling, West Virginia. It 
was the old ten-times-told tale. Dexter won as he pleased, 
and the fastest heat was 2m. 26 \s. They now went on to 
Pittsburg, and appeared with a pacer called Magoozler. The 
pacer beat Dexter the first heat in 2m. 22f s. ; but the little 
horse outlasted him, and won the second, third, and fourth 
heats in 2m. 21|s., 2m. 23|s., 2m. 32s. It was on the 21st 
of October. After this the horses were brought back to the 
eastward of the Mountains. 



Y- 



XLVIIL 

Dexter, Polly Ann the Pacer, and Patchen, Jun., at Philadelphia. — Dexter, 
Silas Rich, and Patchen, Jun., at Baltimore. — Dexter under Saddle 
against Time. — Dexter and Silas Rich at Washington. — Dexter's Per- 
formances that Year considered. — Integrity and Capacity of Budd Doble. 
— No Reason to believe that Dexter then reached his best. — His fine 
Points. — Dexter compared to Peerless. — The Auburn Horse. — Grand 
Combination of Qualities in Dexter. 

ON the 29th of October, Dexter trotted at Philadelphia, 
on Point-Breeze Park, against Polly Ann a pacer, and 
George M. Patchen, jun. It was mile heats, three in five, 
in harness. The day was unfavorable, as it was blowing a 
strong gale of wind at the time. Dexter won in three heats : 
time 2m. 23£s., 2m. 27s., 2m. 28s. On the 14th of Novem- 
ber, Dexter, Silas Bich, and George M. Patchen trotted at 
Baltimore, on the Herring-run Course, where the Marjdand 
Horse-Fair was held. It was mile heats, three in five, in 
harness, and Dexter won in three straight heats, — 2m. 31s., 
2m. 21|s., 2m. 25^s. Silas Pich was second in all the 
heats. On the 17th of November, that being the last day 
of the Maryland fair, Dexter trotted under saddle against 
time. Gen. Grant acted as one of the judges. Doble 
rode Pexter, and young Dimmock went with him on a 
runner to force the pace. The track and weather were both 
unfavorable ; for the ground was heavy, and the wind blew 
high. In the first trial, Dexter made a bad break at the 
quarter, and his mile was no better than 2m. 27]s. In the 
second trial, he trotted the first half-mile in lm. 9s., but 
broke badly in the third quarter, and the time of the mile 
was 2m. 24 £s. 

25 385 



386 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

I think it was very bad policy for the owners of Dexter 
to start him in this time-race. The horse had already made 
such time under the saddle, — in his match the year before 
on the Fashion, and at Buffalo this year, — that to have him 
come back from that great record should have been avoided. 
Yet it was perfectly certain, one would have thought, that 
on such a course and in such weather he could not get any- 
where near his best mark of 2m. 18s. In going against 
another horse, it mattered very little what the time was, be- 
cause it would be assumed that Dexter could have gone faster 
if it had been requisite for him to do so. But, in going 
against time, Dexter was really trotting against himself, as 
his time was much the best time that had ever been made 
Now, to start Dexter on a bad track and on a bad day 
against Dexter on a good track and good day was not wise. 
Yet this was virtually what was done at Baltimore. 

The little horse was now taken to Washington, where he 
appeared upon the National Course on the 20th of Novem- 
ber, mile heats, three in five, in harness, against Silas Rich. 
The company was very distinguished. Sir Frederick Bruce 
the English Minister, and the Marquis de Montholon the 
French Minister, were present. Gen. Grant was one of 
the judges. The first heat was slow, — 2m. 30s. In the 
second heat, Doble cut loose from Silas Rich, and made the 
mile in 2m. 21Js. The third heat was 2m. 27|s. 

This concluded as good a year's performance as there is 
to be found in the records of trotting-horses ; and the mile 
at Washington in 2m. 21is., late in the month of November, 
shows that after the thousands of miles Dexter had travelled, 
and the many arduous performances he had been called 
upon to make, he was fully as good as, if not better than, 
he had been at any time during the season. He was of 
course drawn very fine, and reduced to a mere frame of bone 
and muscle, pretty much as he had been when he finished 
the doings of the year 1865 by beating Gen. Butler two- 
mile heats to wagon. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 387 

He is passing this winter at Baltimore, under the charge 
of Peter Conover; and, from all that Doble tells me, he is 
likely to come out fine in the spring. It is unnecessary to 
recapitulate his performances since he left my stahle. I 
believe I have given them all; and it occurs to me that I 
ought to call public attention to the integrity and capacity 
with which Doble has trained and driven him. The owners 
of Dexter were fortunate in selecting this young man for 
the post ; and the public were fortunate that some people did 
not get hold of the horse, and use him for the purpose of 
plundering the people. 

Great as the achievements of Dexter have been, I can 
see n^ reason to believe that he has yet reached his highest 
development. It is a long time now since I took Mr. Foster 
to his box, and pointing out his very remarkable shape, — 
the wicked head, the game-cock throttle, the immense depth 
over 'the heart, the flat, oblique shoulder laid back clean 
under the saddle, the strong back, the mighty haunches, 
square and as big as those of a cart-horse, and the good, 
wiry legs, — predicted to him that here stood the future 
Lord of the Trotting- World. That prediction has not yet 
been wholly fulfilled, but my faith in its accomplishment is 
not at all shaken. He has not yet beaten the 2m. 19|s. in 
harness of Flora Temple; nor has he beat the 2m. 25s. to 
wagon which stands to her credit and to the credit of 
George Wilkes ; but I can see no reason to doubt that to do 
both these things is clearly within his capacity. The 2m. 
21 £s. at Washington City, on the 20th day of November, 
seems to me to proclaim that Dexter is still improving, and 
may be expected to surpass the grand doings of 1866, by 
those we may reasonably look for in the year which has 
just begun.* 

Some people imagine that the strong point in Dexter is 

* Hiram died in the middle of March, 1867; and therefore the grass, had not 
grown upon his grave when these predictions in regard to Dexter had been ful- 
filled. 



388 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

his great speed, but I have never thought so. When I 
matched him three-mile heats against Stonewall Jackson, 
in the early part of his career, I was fully convinced that he 
was a horse of fine game and hard bottom. I have had 
horses as fast as he is for a brush ; but I have never had 
another that could maintain a great rate so far, and come 
again in repeating heats, making the last the best. I think 
the gray mare Peerless, who is closely related to Dexter, as 
she was by American Star out of a mare in the Messenger 
line, was as fast as he is. The breeding of Peerless was 
much the same as his in blood, but reversed in the sexes. 
She was the produce of Star and a mare of Messenger 
descent. He was the produce of a Messenger horse in the 
male line and a Star mare. I do not mean to say that Peer- 
less could equal Dexter's saddle-rate, but I think that to 
wagons they would be very close together, if she is as good 
as she once was ; but, as Dexter appears to be steadily im- 
proving, he will probably attain to a rate of speed in harness 
and to wagon such as we have never yet seen. 

I had a horse in my stable late last fall that I am satisfied 
was then as fast as Dexter; and I think it quite likely that 
he was a little faster. I allude to Mr. Bonner's big chest- 
nut gelding, the Auburn Horse. He certainly carried me 
faster than I had ever before ridden behind a trotter, and he 
went away from Lady Thorn with the greatest ease. The 
Auburn Horse had just come right, and got to feeling well 
after having been out of sorts for some time. His speed 
and resolute way of going had soon made a strong impression 
upon my mind; and I told my friends Oliver Marshall and 
Poster that if I could have him to trot a race, I thought I 
could put a mark up so high that it would take a long time 
to wipe it out. That is my opinion now, and the readers of 
this work have a right to know it. Yet it does not follow 
that the Auburn Horse is equal to Dexter, though he might 
trot a mile in harness faster.' 

When we look at the grand combination of excellent 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 389 

qualities with which Dexter is gifted, it is at least prohahle 
that no other given horse possesses them. One may have 
his speed without his bottom ; another may have speed and 
bottom for a race or two, but be quite unable to stand the 
long campaign of a journey of two thousand miles, with 
trots nearly every week, and sometimes two or three in a 
week. A third may be a fine harness and wagon horse, but 
of no account under saddle. A fourth may be fast under 
saddle, but come back about ten seconds when in harness or 
to wagon ; and a fifth may go along finely until he strikes 
the mud, or feels weight behind him, either of which stops 
him. But all the most desirable characteristics Dexter 
possesses. What any trotting-horse can do, at any reason- 
able distance, or in any way of going, he can do. 

I think the Auburn Horse might trot faster than Dexter 
can do in harness ; but I should not feel at all confident of 
winning a race with him against Dexter. I know the 
thorough bottom of the little horse, and I have never tested 
that of the big one. There is no reason why I should not 
say here what I have already said to some of my friends : 
therefore I give it as my opinion, that, when the Auburn 
Horse is all right, I can drive him a mile in 2m. 18s. in 
harness. That would win a heat from Dexter, I think, but 
it would not win a race ; and, if the Auburn Horse came 
back much in the second or third heat, the little one would 
probably split the heats, and finally win the race. Of 
course this is all speculation, as Mr. Bonner will not trot 
any of his horses in a race ; but having had both the horses, 
and having driven them on various occasions when they 
were both feeling fine and trotting very fast, I have formed 
the opinion that the Auburn Horse can trot as fast in 
harness as Dexter himself can. 

Some may think that my prejudices lean a little against 
Dexter, now that he is no longer in my hands ; but I do not 
think they do. One thing is certain ; and that is, that I 
believed in him before anybody else did, except Mr. Alley, 



390 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

and pronounced him the "best trotting-horse in the world, or 
that had ever been in the world, to Mr. Foster, at a time 
when the majority of people would have said that I was 
crazy, if they had heard me. There has been a constant 
improvement going on in the trotting-horse. The trotters 
are much better bred than they used to be, and that hag 
had much effect. The courses, sulkies, and wagons have 
also been improved. Our best horses have generally been 
close together in rate. There was but a shade of difference 
between Flora Temple and George M. Patchen, and her and 
John Morgan, except in this, that, though they were close 
up to her head in one or two races, they were unable to 
follow her along, and campaign with her. But considering 
what Dexter has done, keeping in mind the fact that he 
seems to be steadily improving in his rate in harness, and 
not forgetting that he could certainly trot under saddle in 
2m. 15s. a year ago last fall, I am sometimes led to the 
belief that he may some day, not only beat Flora's best time 
in harness, but open a gap that will look very wide to those 
who come next. 



XLIX. . 

On Driving. — Difficulty of laying down Kules. — Importance of a Sensitive 
Mouth. — The Bit proper for a Colt. — Much Use of " Bitting " Apparatus 
Mischievous. — The Bits in Cold Weather to be warmed before Use. — A 
light. Fine Hand required. — Pulling to be avoided. — Gentleness and 
Firmness. — The Horse to be harnessed so as to be at Ease. — Dead Pull 
an Evil. — Proper Position of the Driver. — The Shift of the Bit. — How 
to hold the Eeins. — Severe Bits bad. 

IT is of course very difficult to lay down rules for driving 
trotting-horses ; for a great deal depends upon the char- 
acter and disposition of the horse in hand, and much de- 
pends upon the method which may have been followed by 
those who broke him. It very often happens that the 
driver will have to spend some time in undoing and repair- 
ing the mischievous effects of the bad driving to which the 
horse has been subjected. The colt ought to be bitted and 
broken, so that he shall have a lively, sensitive mouth, 
and be ready to answer to a light, neat touch upon the 
rein. The bit for a colt should not be of great size and 
thickness. A bar of moderate size, rather fine than thick, 
is what I have always preferred. Such a bit is sooner felt, 
and the colt keeps his head up, and does not bear down 
steadily upon it. With a big bar-bit in his mouth, he is 
much more likely to hang on it, by which means the mouth 
is often made hard and callous. This is, of all things, to be 
avoided. 

It is also my opinion that colts do not require as much 
bitting as they are commonly subjected to ; and the bitting- 
apparatus ought not to be kept on them very long at one 
time, for this is what causes sore mouths, and they result 

391 



392 TEE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

in hard, unfeeling ones. If a big, heavy bit is used in bit- 
ting, and it is kept in the colt's mouth long at a time, he 
will soon begin to hug down upon it, and the probability of 
his having a good mouth for driving is lost. It will become 
hard and tough, and he will fall into a habit of always bear- 
ing the weight of his head upon the bit. There is another 
thing I will mention here, to which more attention ought 
to be paid. Bits are often kept in places to which the frost 
penetrates in very cold weather. The bits become frosted j 
and, without a thought of what he is doing, the man claps a 
frosted steel bit into the horse's mouth. The consequence is 
a sore mouth, just about as certainly as if the bit had been 
nearly at a red heat ; and then the man bothers his brains 
to find out what caused it. If he had put the frozen bit 
into his own mouth, it would have brought the inner skin 
of the lips away with it, and then he would have felt the 
mischief. In very cold weather, take your bits to the fire, 
and be sure that there is no frost in the steel when the bit 
is placed in your horse's mouth. 

Now we will return to the colt. When you come to drive 
him, it should be with a light, firm hand. The reins should 
be handled nicely and gently. The driver can manage the 
colt without any jerking or pulling and hauling, if he keeps 
cool, thinks of what he is about, and uses proper care and 
patience. The mouth is now fine and sensitive ; and it ought 
to be kept so, because this is the great organ of communi- 
cation between a good driver and the trotter, when he is 
cultivated and improved into a fast horse. What you want 
the trotter to do when he is at speed is to be got into him 
through his mouth. You may encourage him by speaking 
to him, or sting him into a greater effort with the whip; 
but neither of these is half as good as the play upon the 
reins, with which you let him know what you want through 
his lively, sensitive mouth. You are then to keep in con- 
stant mind the necessity of not impairing the colt's mouth 
by rough handling of the reins. If you pull and lug at the 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 393 

bit, the colt, in his efforts to resist what hurts him, will very 
soon pull too, for he will find out that this numbs and deadens 
the jaws; but this is at the expense of ruination to the 
mouth. It will become hard and insensible ; and the first 
and largest part of the mischief which goes towards the 
making of a hard puller is done. 

When you begin to drive the colt, you must find out what 
sort of bit suits him best. This is matter of experimental 
trial. Use both bars and snaffles, all easy ; and by feel of 
hand, and observation of the way in which the colt carries 
his head, you will soon be able to ascertain which bit suits 
him best. The nicety of your touch as driver should 
correspond to the lively sensibility of the colt's mouth. A 
bad-tempered, hasty man will very soon spoil a good-tem- 
pered young horse. The use of the whip ought, as a general 
rule, to be avoided. In some cases, it must be used ; but it 
should never be brought into play when the horse does not 
know what it is for. A slap with the whip, which almost 
makes the colt jump out of the harness, is often immediately 
followed by a powerful snatch on the reins to pull him back 
again. Both of these are as bad as bad can be. Sore 
mouths, bad tempers, and broken gaits, are the almost 
inevitable results of such handling: On the other hand, if 
the colt has been well broken, and has a good lively mouth, 
and the driver handles the reins skilfully and thoughtfully, 
the colt will soon learn to understand every move of the 
hand, and to answer it. From this it follows that you ought 
to make no move with the bit without a definite object. 
When you feel an impulse to do something with the reins 
without knowing what you are to do it for, don't do it at all. 
Such moves only fool the horse. Everybody admits that a 
very hard-pulling horse is a nuisance ; and everybody knows 
that some horses will pull if they are to trot, and will not 
extend themselves without a strong pull : but, even in regard 
to these, it is not well to keep up a steady, rigid pull all the 
time. I say, rather pull for a space, and then ease off, not 



394 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

suddenly, but gradually, and by this means they will not 
pull quite so hard, and will trot faster. It is not natural for 
horses to pull hard. Some there are, of uncommon ardor 
and determination, tha t will pull in company ; but more are 
made hard-pullers by faulty handling when young, which 
has deadened their mouths. 

In order that a fast horse should be under circumstances 
to do his best, he should be as much at his ease in his 
harness and general rig as possible. If he is not, he is 
placed at almost as much disadvantage as if sore or stiff, or 
suffering from some bodily ailment. You may see horses 
brought out of the stable to trot with a very tight check to 
keep their heads up, and a tight martingale to keep it down. 
Such a horse is in irons ; and when to this is added a dead 
drag at the reins, and no movement of the bit from end to 
end, I cannot see how he should do his best. People talk 
about a steady, bracing pull ; but, in my opinion, that is not 
the right way to drive a trotter. There is a great difference 
between letting go of your horse's head, and keeping up 
one dull, deadening pull all the time. The race-horse riders 
practise what is called a bracing pull ; and, a great many 
times, I have seen their horses tire under it without ever 
running their best. The steady pull choked them. The 
pull should be sufficient to feel the mouth, and give some" 
support and assistance, so as to give the horse confidence to 
get up to his stride. More than that is mischievous. To 
keep the mouth alive, the bit must be shifted a little occa- 
sionally. But this is not to be done by a pull of the hand 
on the. rein. A mere half-turn of the wrist, or less than 
half a turn, by which the thumb is elevated and the little 
finger lowered, is sufficient to shift the bit, keep the mouth 
sensitive, and rouse the horse. 

The reins are to be steadily held with both hands while 
this play with the wrist is made ; and it is, of course, only 
to be done with one wrist at a time. The hands should be 
well down ; and the driver ought not to sit all of a heap, 



THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 395 

with his head forward. Neither should he lean back, with 
his bodily weight on the reins, which, in that case, are made 
a sort of stay for him. He should be upright ; and what 
pulling he must do should be done by the muscular force of 
the arms. The head and the arms are what a good driver 
uses ; but some have their arms straight out, and pull by 
means of putting the dead weight of their bodies on the 
reins. If, instead of lying back, and putting their bodily 
weight on the reins, with which latter they take a turn 
round their hands, drivers would depend upon their muscular 
strength, they could let up on the pull, graduate it, and so 
ease the horse from time to time instantaneously. The 
driver who depends upon the arms has command of the 
horse : he who substitutes bodily weight with the reins 
wrapped round his hands, has not half command of the 
horse, or of himself either ; and, if the horse is a puller, he 
will soon take command of the driver. The reason of it is, 
that there is no intermission of the exertion, no let up, 
either for man or horse. Besides, in that way of driving, 
it is impossible to give those movements to the bit which 
seem to refresh and stimulate the horse so much. "When 
a horse has been taught the significance of this move- 
ment of the bit, the shift by the turn of the wrist, he 
will never fail to answer it, even though he should seem to 
be at the top of his speed. The moment he feels this little 
move of the bit in his sensitive mouth, he will collect him- 
self, and make another spurt ; and the value of this way of 
driving is, that the horse is not likely to break when thus 
called upon, while a high-strung, generous horse, if called 
upon for a final effort with a whip, is as likely to break the 
moment it falls on him as not. I have won many a very 
close heat by practising this movement, and therefore I have 
no hesitation in recommending it. It is not difficult to 
acquire, and the horse soon comes to know what it means. 
Let us come now to the way of taking hold of the reins. 
A wrap around the hand, such as running-horse riders take, 



396 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 

is clumsy and bad. I do not know whether many people 
take hold of the reins as I do, or not. Perhaps not. Sim. 
Hoagland is the only one who takes hold precisely as I do, 
so far as I have observed. When we have been jogging 
horses together at early morning, we haVe often talked over 
these matters ; and, whether our way was the best way or 
not, we could never see any other that suited us half as 
well. 

I will try to explain how I hold the reins : I could show 
it in two seconds. Take, first, the right-hand rein. This, 
coming from the bit, passes between the little finger and 
the third finger, over the little finger, then under the other 
three fingers, and up over the thumb. The left-hand rein is 
held in the left hand exactly in the same way; but the bight 
of the slack of the reins is also held between the thumb 
and forefinger of the left hand. This gives more substance 
in that hand; but, if it is found inconvenient to have it 
there by those who have small hands, it may be dropped 
altogether. A firm grasp on each rein, with the backs of 
the hands up, and without any wrap, is thus obtained. It 
is a great point in driving to be able to shift the reach — 
that is, the length of the hold you take — without for an 
instant letting go of the horse's head. With this way of 
holding the reins, it is easily done. If I want to shorten 
the hold on the left-hand rein (the near rein), I take hold of 
that rein just behind the left hand with the thumb and 
forefinger of the right hand, and steady ft. This is very 
easily done ; and it does not interfere at all with the command 
of the oif rein with the right hand. The near rein being 
thus steadied behind the left hand, I slide that hand forward 
on the rein, which is kept over the little finger, under the 
other three fingers, and over the thumb all the time, and 
then shut the grasp again on the new reach. A shift with 
the right hand is made just in the same way, by taking 
hold and steadying the rein behind that hand with the 
thumb and forefinger of the left hand. 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 397 

I have often observed, that, with other methods of holding 
the reins, there was great difficulty in shifting the reach. 
The driver tries to do it ; but, for an instant, lie has let go of 
the horse's head on one side altogether, and broken his 
stride. When this is found to be the case, the dead pull all 
the time is adopted ; and this spoils the freedom and elasticity 
of the horse's stride, and chokes his wind. I do not intend 
this to be taken as instruction for professional drivers. 
Every driver has a way of his own ; and some of theru have 
very good ways, for, as I have taken occasion to state before, 
thejr drive well. But what I have set down above may be 
of service to gentlemen who drive their own horses, and to 
those young men who, having as yet no settled method of 
their own, may think it well enough to try that which I 
have found to answer. Another word about bits. I 
am opposed to the use of severe bits, and complicated things 
of that sort. Some of the inventors of such things say 
that I am prejudiced ; but I don't think I am. If a man 
has a horse that cannot be driven with a bar-bit or a snaffle, 
he may as well sell him, except it is a very exceptional 
case. Where are these kinds of severe complicated bits most 
in use ? Why, in England j five hundred or a thousand of 
them are used there to one that is used here: and where do 
the horses trot the best ? These bits are mostly invented 
by men who have had no practical experience whatever as 
to what sort of driving a fast trotter requires to keep his 
gait square and bold, and induce him to do his best when it 
is called for. When a horse has a good mouth, — and a bad 
one is almost always the fault of bad breaking and driving, — 
the easier the bit you use, the better he will act for you, and 
the more speed he will show you. 



Of Breaking in Trotting. — A gaining Break. — Snatching to be avoided. 
— How to catch the Horse to his Trot. — Nature of the catching Pull. — 
The Horse to be steadied when he has caught. — A Break sometimes 
desirable. — How to bring it about. — Confidence of the Horse in his 
Driver. — Sagacity of Horses. — To prevent a Break. — Signs of one 
coming. 



I 



1ST the consideration of the art of driving a trotting- 
horse, another important .part is that of breaking. Asa 
general rule, breaking is to be avoided rather than encour- 
aged and promoted ; though there are times when a trotter 
may be broken with advantage to his speed and staying-power 
in the latter part of the work. There is, however, no horse 
but will break sometimes, and that when he is not tired ; 
for the steadiest and stoutest of trotters may break through 
a false step. "When you are educating a horse for the pur- 
pose of making a trotter of him, you must endeavor to 
shape his action in his breaks. Just as it depended 
whether you should make a puller of him by your way of 
driving in his educational period, so it depends whether you 
shall teach him to make a gaining break, — which is to 
say, to lose nothing in space, and gain something by 
change of muscular action, — or whether you shall suffer 
him to become a bad, losing breaker. In the one case, 
nothing is actually lost by a break ; in the other, you drop 
behind largely, often so far that it cannot be made up. 

Then, when the horse is being formed for a trotter, he is 
not to be suddenly snatched at when he breaks : if he is, he 
will contract a habit of dropping back in his harness, ancl 
almost coming to a stand-still as soon as he breaks. You 

398 • 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 399 

will see some of our fastest trotters do this. In order to 
avoid it, let the horse, when being formed for a trotter, take 
a good lope or two when he makes a break before you try to 
catch him. Should you find, that, without being pulled, 
he has a tendency to come back into the breeching when 
he breaks, touch him with the whip at such times, and 
teach him, that, whatever else he may do, his main business 
is to go right ahead all the time until you pull him up. 
In catching a horse in a break, the driver must do it princi- 
pally with one rein. Some chiefly use the oil* rein, some 
the near rein. It is not material which, except in this, 
that some horses catch more readily and easily on one than 
on the other. This, as regards any particular horse, is only 
found out by observation and trial. It is always to be done 
with one rein. A dead pull on both reins will not bring 
a horse to his trot; but, if his head be pulled slightly round 
to one side and upwards, he will grab for his trot immedi- 
ately. 

The movement of the reins to be somewhat like that 
which is effected by the turn of the wrist, in shifting the 
bit, to keep the mouth lively and call for another effort when 
the trotter is doing about his best. There is, however, 
more pull on one rein ; for, in the shift, the action is merely 
momentary, besides which in the catch there is to be a yield- 
ing of the other rein. The driver is not by any means to 
let go of the head with one hand, while trying to catch the 
horse in a break with the other ; but he must give with the 
opposite hand just about as much as the horse's head must 
come to one side to catch his trot. The catching pull is not 
to be a yanking, jerking pull : if it is, the horse will sheer 
off, and lose a great deal by the swerve, — perhaps cross, or 
run into somebody. It is to be a quick, firm, but not 
violent movement. To do it well, and to learn to do it just 
at the right time, will be worth your while ; and practice 
will enable you to learn it if you will follow these direc- 
tions. 



400 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

By making the horse understand that he is not to come 
back in his breaks, and by learning how to catch him readily 
and get him going on with his trot right forward, he will 
be made a lively breaker, and you will have gained a very 
great point in the art of driving. Some horses eventually 
learn to catch their trot with their head straight and their 
noses out ; but this can only be said of few. When the 
horse has caught after a break, cool nerve and steadiness 
are wanted on the part of the driver. If the latter is in 
too much of a hurry, and lets go of the horse's head as soon 
as he lands on a trot, a double break is commonly the 
result. It is necessary to steady the horse when he has 
caught, and to see him settled down square to his trot 
before you ease off to him, and call for speed. When you 
do ease off, it should be gradually, so that he may get up to 
the length and quickness of his stroke by degrees, instead 
of trying to do so by a convulsive effort. 

This, in my opinion, is the method the driver should 
adopt to teach the horse to be lively in his breaks, and to 
catch well. I do not call this teaching them to break. 
There is a great difference in principle between the two 
things. I have long heard that a driver has no business to 
teach a horse to break. The thing to be got into the horse 
is to trot fast and maintain his trot for a mile or two miles, 
if he is a stout and honest horse, without any break at all : 
but as I have shown in prior chapters, and in the beginning 
of this chapter, there are times when a horse will break ; 
and then it makes a vast difference whether his break shall 
be lively, and he shall catch well, or whether it shall be dead 
into the ground or up into the air, bobbing about like a ship 
in a ground swell, with no wind to steady her. Therefore, 
distinguish the difference between teaching your horse to 
break, which is mischievous and to be avoided, and teaching 
him to break lively, with a free forward movement, and to 
catch well when he^does break. 

Sometimes a driver of good judgment will break his horse 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 401 

on purpose, but this is not in a process of teaching him to 
break well. It is at a pinch, when he sees that the horse is 
becoming lifeless and dull in action, and beginning to dwell 
in his stroke. A good lively break at such a time will often 
revive the horse amazingly, and therefore it ought to be 
forthwith put in practice. There are two ways of doing this. 
If the horse is a quick one, hit him with the whip across 
the buttocks, and, as you do so, let go of his head. He will 
break with a good forward bound ; and, as you will have 
made him break at your own time, you will be all ready to 
catch him. The other method is by a sudden snatch on one 
rein, which will throw him out of his stride and break him. 
The former of these two methods is to be preferred where 
the horse can be broken by the cut with the whip, and the 
accompanying let-go; but though this breaking up on pur- 
pose is sometimes useful, and even necessary in a tight place, 
beware of doing it often. If you practise in this way on 
your horse to learn how to do it yourself, and see how nicely 
you can break him up and catch him, you will teach him to 
break as a habit, and confirm him in it. Many good horses 
have thus been spoiled. 

There is another thing of which you should beware, and 
it is a thing that is often done : when your horse breaks, 
do not go under him with the whip. If you do so, the horse 
will become scared, and will not know what to do. This 
uncertainty, and the fear of the whip, will keep him all the 
time in danger of a break. He is afraid: expecting the 
whip, expecting to break, having no knowledge of what his 
driver wants him to do, and no confidence in any settled and 
understood purpose in him as a driver, what can the horse 
be expected to do? Confidence between the trotting-horse 
and his driver is of the utmost importance : it is all in all. 
Sonfe men inspire it readily, so that a horse will take hold 
and do all he knows the first time the man drives him. 
For another man the same horse will not trot a yard. Tho 

truth is, that the horse is a very knowing, sagacious creature, 
26 



402 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 

much more so than he gets credit for. If a driver has no 
settled system of his own, or if he is rash or severe without 
cause, it is not likely that confidence will be inspired in the 
horse, even in a long time. Especially is this the case when 
the horse is punished without his knowing what it is for. 

In nine cases out of ten, a horse punished without his 
knowing what for is punished for his driver's fault, not for 
his own. Confidence cannot grow in such circumstances. 
If you observe two good trotters who have been accustomed 
to work together in double harness, you will see what speed 
and steadiness follow from confidence in each other. Each 
knows that he or she can depend upon the mate to keep up 
the stroke, and maintain the even pull and level action. It 
is of just as much importance that the single-harness horse 
should understand and have confidence in his driver, as it is 
for a double-harness horse to know the power and ways of 
his mate. Unless this sort of mutual understanding can be 
established between the driver and the horse, the latter can 
never be relied upon to do his best. The readiest way to 
produce it is to use him gently but firmly, and to accustom 
him to the system of telegraphing to him by means of the 
reins in .your hand and the bit in his mouth. The whip is 
to be kept very much in the background while you are cul- 
tivating confidence in your horse. It is more likely to 
prove an obstacle than an aid. 

I now come to the last critical point in this matter, — 
when the horse is tired, and inclined to break. In a long 
brush, you will often have reason to look for an attempt to 
break, and it will generally be in circumstances when the 
horse must not be suffered to do it. There are times, as I have 
shown, when, with a tired horse, a break may be brought on 
with advantage ; but there are others when all will be lost if 
a break occurs. To prevent it, give the shift with th#bit 
when you perceive that he begins to tire, and soon renew it; 
this will revive and rouse him, and take his mind off the 
break which he has felt he was about to make. The signs 



THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 403 

of a coming break will be discovered by watching the head 
and ears of the horse. The attention' of the driver ought 
always to be fixed upon the head of his horse. Many a heat 
is lost by neglect of this matter. A driver is seen coming 
up the stretch a length or a length and a half ahead. Loth 
the horses are tired, but the leading one could win. The 
driver, however, when he gets where the carriages are, turns 
his head to look at the ladies, or to see whether they are 
looking at him. Just then the horse gives a twitch with 
his ears ; the driver don't see it ; up flies the trotter, and 
the ugly man behind keeps his horse square, and wins by a 
neck. 



THE END. 



APPENDIX. 



DEXTER IN 1867-68. 

If the author of the foregoing work had lived another year, he 
would unquestionably have continued the sketch of Dexter down 
to the period of that horse's retirement from the public trottino;- 
turf, when he was purchased by Mr. Bonner, in the summer of 
1867. To supplement that sketch, by a few brief observations 
upon the most excellent of Dexter's performances in that year, 
now devolves upon the editor. The horse was wintered at Balti- 
more, and did well. In the spring of 1867, a challenge was pub- 
lished in " The Spirit of the Times," from Mr. C. P. Relf, the 
owner of the celebrated mare Lady Thorn, offering to trot her 
mile heats, three in five, and two-mile heats in harness, and the 
same races to wagons, against any horse in the world. The chal- 
lenge was accepted for Dexter, and the matches were made to trot 
on the Fashion Course. 

Before these matches came off, Dexter trotted for a purse at 
Middletown, Orange County, on the 16th of May, against Gold- 
smith Maid. He beat her very easily ; and this early appearance 
convinced those who saw him trot that he retained all his speed. 

The matches between Dexter and Lady Thorn were for two 
thousand dollars each. The first of them, mile heats, three in five, 
in harness, came off at the Fashion Course on the 28th of May. 

405 



406 APPENDIX. 

A great deal of public interest had been excited, and there was an 
immense gathering of people to see the race. When the matches 
were first made, the betting was about 60 to 40 on Dexter ; but, as 
his performances of the previous season were called to mind and 
discussed, he became a stronger favorite, and, just before they 
started, he was backed at 100 to 50. He was driven by Budd 
Doble, while the mare was handled by Dan Pfifer. In the first 
heat, Dexter took the lead at the start, was never headed, and won 
by two lengths in 2m. 24s. In the second heat, Dexter also took 
the lead, and was ahead of the mare a length at the half-mile in 
lm. 12s. The pace was then improved, and was very fast to the 
head of the stretch. There the mare was called upon to " head 
him or die ; " and, being unable to stand the, increased rate neces- 
sary, she made a bad break, and he distanced her in 2m. 22s. 

The next race between Dexter and Lady Thorn, mile heats, 
three in five, to wagons, was trotted on the 7th of June. The 
public had now come to the conclusion that no living horse could 
beat Dexter if he was in good condition; and 100 to 20 was laid 
on him. The first heat in this race was slow. The mare broke 
twice, and Dexter was held back for her. He won in 2m. 32s. 
But, in the second heat, there was one of the finest displays of 
fast and powerful trotting that has ever been witnessed. They 
went away together, and at the quarter pole Dexter led half a 
length. At the half-mile, he was a length ahead. He held the 
marc at his wheel to the head of the stretch, and from thence a 
desperate struggle ensued. Lady Thorn surpassed any thing that 
had been done prior to that to wagon ; but Dexter beat her by half 
a length in 2m. 24s. This beat the best time before made to 
wagon by one second. Flora Temple and George Wilkes had 
both trotted previously in 2m. 25s. The third heat was another 
fine one, especially in appearance. Dexter was pulled back so as 
to just keep the mare well extended, and beat her half a length in 
2m. 28s. 

On the 14th of June, Dexter and the mare had another meeting 



APPENDIX. 407 

at the Fashion, and trotted two-mile heats in harness. It was a 
good race and fast. Dexter won the first heat by two lengths in 
4m. 51s. This was within half a second of the best two miles 
ever made in harness, which was 4m. 50|s., by Flora Temple. 
Dexter then won the second heat in 5m. Ol^s. " 

Before this race of two-mile heats in harness, another enorao-e- 
ment had been made for Dexter. He was matched to trot in har- 
ness against Ethan Allen and a running-mate in double harness. 
The terms of it were for two thousand dollars, mile heats, three in 
five, to come off on the 21st of June. Six years before, Ethan 
Allen and his running-mate Socks had trotted in 2m. 19|s. It had 
been lately found, that, in Dan Mace's hands, Ethan was capable of 
going faster than that in the like rig. He had now for a running- 
mate a young thoroughbred mare, called Charlotte F. She was 
got by imported Scythian, out of Blackbird's dam by imported 
Ainderby ; and Mace had taught her to run so evenly, and with 
such power of stroke, that she carried the old stallion along by the 
breeching at an enormous rate. On the 29th of May, Ethan Allen 
and his mare went against Brown George and his runner, and beat 
them in three heats. The third was trotted in 2m. 19s. This led 
to the match with Dexter. 

On the 21st of June, an immense crowd assembled at the Fashion 
Course to see the race. The team paid forfeit, Charlotte F. having 
strained a tendon. But a new match was made for five hundred 
dollars a side, and they came up to the post. The runner substi- 
tuted for 'the mare was the one that had gone with Brown George, 
a black gelding, captured in the war. The betting was two to one 
on Dexter. 

In the first heat, he had the pole. They went off at amazing 
speed, and at the quarter the double team led two lengths in 32s. 
They maintained the rate, and went to the half-mile in lm. 04s., 
three lengths ahead. They were four lengths in the lead at the 
head of the stretch, and won by five lengths in 2m. 15s. A won- 
derful performance it was all round, but especially for Dexter, who 



408 APPENDIX. 

trotted singly, and pulled his own vehicle and driver. He unques- 
tionably beat 2m. 17s. 

The betting was even, it being thought that the team would give 
out before the end of three heats, while it was pretty well known 
that Dexter would " stick." Soon after they got the word in the 
second heat, the stallion broke. Dexter led a length on the turn, 
where he was trotting close to the outside. He took the pole be- 
fore he reached the quarter, and went on with the lead to the half- 
mile, where his time was lm. 06 s. But now the runner and the 
trotter had got to his wheel, having come through the straight 
work of the back-stretch at a very high rate of speed. The pace 
was so hot that Ethan broke on the Flushing turn ; but, when he 
caught, the runner whirled him along at such a rate that they 
overhauled Dexter, and beat him by three lengths in 2m. 1 Gs. Dex- 
ter must have trotted this heat in 2m. 1 7s. or 2m. 1 7-|s. : and it 
affords the most notable example of constancy and courage that 
ever was seen ; for, after he had trotted the first half-mile in the 
amazing time of lm. 06s., and had kept the lead for three-quarters 
of a mile, he never left his feet when the team, like a storm, came 
rushing by, but trotted out to the end in 2m. 1 7s., or thereabouts. 
The team won the third heat in 2m. 19s. 

The trotting of Dexter in this race settled three things in the 
minds of thoughtful and reasoning people : first, that, high as his 
powers had been estimated, they had been underrated ; second, 
that no trotter going on equal terms with him had any chance to 
beat him, barring accidents ; third, that a race between a trotter 
in single harness, and another trotter in double harness with a run- 
ning-mate, Avas no fair match. The conclusion was, that the run- 
ning-horse beat Dexter. 

On Saturday, June 29, Dexter and Lady Thorn trotted their 
last race on the Fashion Course, — two-mile heats to wagons. 
The horse was fine-drawn and wiry, from the effect of his desper- 
ate exertions against the double team ; but he was in no wise stale, 
for his eye was bright, his coat sleek, and his spirit eager. Ten to 



APPENDIX. 409 

one was laid on Dexter before the start ; and he won with great 
ease in two heats, — 5m, 01 s.. 5m. 09s. 

He had an engagement on hand with Ethan Allen and Char- 
lotte K.. for the Fourth of July. It was to go mile heats, three in 
five, on the half-mile track at Morristown, N.J. The track 
was not calculated for a very fast race ; but yet the team was com- 
pelled to go in 2m. 20ls., 2m. 20is., and 2m. 20s., to beat Dexter. 
Some maintained at the time, that, considering the nature of the 
course, this was quite as good a race as the one at the Fashion. 

Dexter now met Lady Thorn for the last time. On the 10th of 
July, they trotted mile heats, three in five, in harness, at Trenton, 
N.J. Dexter won in three heats. The last was fast, — 2m. 20-|s. 
The track was sandy, deep, and heavy ; and it was now clearly 
perceived that the hour for surpassing Flora Temple's crowning 
heat — 2m. 19|s. — was close at hand. 

On the 16th of July, Dexter was at Albany, and there trotted 
against Brown George and running-mate on the Island-park 
Course. Brown George was not much of a trotter by himself; but, 
with the aid of a good running-mate, he could put in three heats 
very fast. Inferior as he was to Ethan Allen in that and in every 
other way of going, he could still, with his running-mate, beat any 
horse in the country save Dexter. But Dexter he could not beat. 
The little wonder won in three heats, — 2m. 22s., 2m. 20|s., 2m. 
20^s. The great fact which had so often been insisted upon by 
the admirers of Dexter was now being made manifest to the dull- 
est mind ; viz., that his deep bottom, and immense constitutional 
power of standing fast work, enabled him to improve under a 
course of travelling and racing which would have upset, and for the 
time ruined, any other trotter in existence. 

Dexter beat Brown George and running-mate in three heats at 
Providence on the 26th of July, and then, going on to Boston, 
surpassed any thing that had ever before been done by a trotter. 
It was on the 30th ; and he went in harness against Brown George 
and running-mate on the Riverside-park Course. The track is a 



410 APPENDIX. 

half-mile one. The fame of Dexter, and the speed of his recent 
exploits, drew together an immense multitude. The fences and 
stands broke down ; and it was with difficulty that the course 
could be kept clear for the horses. Dexter won the first heat 
easily, in 2m. 21 fs. The second was fast and close. In the first 
quarter, George made one little break, and Dexter led at the half- 
mile, in lm. 10s. The last half-mile was stoutly contested. Fast 
as Dexter was going, the runner and the trotter drew towards 
him, and at length headed him. But tlie little horse then made 
himself up for a finishing struggle. He again got even with the 
team, and, passing them in the straight work, came home full of 
power and trot in 2m. 19s. The best time of Flora had now been 
beaten ! Dexter won the third heat in 2m. 21 is. Let it be re- 
membered that this was on a half-mile track ; and then let ns look 
at the figures, — 2m. 21|s., 2m. IDs., 2m. 21is. They are so forci- 
ble and eloquent that no more need be said. This is not one fast 
heat out of three, but three fast heats in succession. Ye* there 
was good reason to expect it after the races against Ethan Allen 
and mate, and from the known almost-everlasting capacity of 
Dexter to improve under plenty of strong work. 

It is unnecessary, in this place, to notice any further perform- 
ances made by Dexter on the trotting-turf, except that in which 
he went against time at Buffalo. There is little doubt of the fact 
that the negotiations between Mr. Bonner and Mr. Fawcett for 
his purchase and sale had been virtually concluded soon after he 
went against Ethan Allen and running-mate on the Fashion 
Course. But, be that as it may, on the 14th of August, at Buffalo, 
Mr. Bonner and Mr. Fawcett being both present, Dexter was en- 
gaged by Doble to beat his own time on the Riverside Park at 
Boston. The famous little horse was brought out and warmed up. 
Doble then intimated to the judges that he should drive one 
round as preparatory. The horse went to the quarter in 34 s., to 
the half-mile in lm. 10s, and trotted in 2m. 21^s. This was a 
great deal faster than Doble had intended to drive him ; and, in- 



APPENDIX. 411 

deed, most of the people thought that it was a real effort and fail- 
ure. After being scraped and cooled out, Dexter was again har- 
nessed, and brought on the course at four o'clock. With him there 
came Ben Mace and the thoroughbred mare Charlotte F., 
who had aided Ethan Allen at Morristown. She was under sad- 
dle, Mace riding ; and it was his office to lay at Dexter's quarters, 
to keep up his emulation and determination to conquer. A little 
jog or two, and then the trotter in harness, and. the runner under 
saddle, went up the stretch, and came along for the word. As 
Dexter was seen to be going very square and well, it was given. 
The pace was fast. He trotted the first quarter in 33is., made the 
half-mile in lm. 07s., and came home in 2m. 17ls., in good wind, 
and with a stroke of commanding power. This performance 
capped the climax of his fame, so far as public trotting in races is 
concerned. The sale to Mr. Bonner was made known, and also 
the condition that Dexter was not to be delivered until after he 
had fulfilled an existing engagement at Chicago. The price was 
thirty-three thousand dollars ; and considering the income he had 
earned, and might have continued to earn, by trotting in public, 
Dexter was one of the cheapest horses that ever was sold. He 
was not only a means of wealth, but of distinction, to Mr. Fawcett. 
Although the time Dexter made at Buffalo, 2m. 1 74s., capped 
the climax of his fame, it was not the full measure of his capacity. 
He had steadily improved up to that date, and there is no rea- 
son to believe that he then attained the greatest excellence of 
which he was capable. He has improved since he came into the 
possession of Mr. Bonner; and facts warrant the belief, that he 
will some day, when he is at the pitch of condition, and other 
things are favorable, trot a mile in harness several seconds faster 
than 2m. 1 7ls. In estimating his present powers, it is material to 
consider the fact that the Buffalo Course was slow when Dexter 
made his fast time there. During that week many fast horses 
trotted over it, and only one of them made a heat as fast as 2m. 
30s. It has since been drained, and otherwise improved, and is 



412 APPENDIX. 

now fast. My own opinion is, that Dexter can now go in less than 
2m. 20s. any day and every day that he may be called upon to do 
so when he is fit to trot and the course is good. If that is cor- 
rect, his regular rate is such that he must be capable of an effort 
so enormous, that he may, and probably will, far surpass his feat a< 
Buffalo, and again make " limping Time toil after him in vain." 

Charles J. Fosteb 









3477 

X2?2 



v*' 



*> 



<, A \ 






V 


















*> * 3 I 









^% 









*> ^ 






X^ 



\> 






$ 



> 

<■<■ 






V ^ 



v 






OS *^ 






V v 






: 



o X 



v. 












A* 



v , 






■V 



I IB j 



**« 






C*' o X 



o 



X 



V 



Oo 




^ 



«\V •/> 










-r- 


















> \ ' O «" 



4 



^ ■»-*, 












%. 





















- 


f> 


c. ^ 




> * 




<• 




"^ V*, 







I** . 



I 



HUMUMJ 



BH 






BH 






HI 



in 



■HBH 



